God's Sense of Humor

God has a great sense of humor. Let me explain...

Lawrence and I know that we want lots of kids. Well, I would love to have 6-8 and Lawrence would be content at 2. We compromise at 4. Of course, those are our plans, not God's. He tends to have a way of working things out somewhat different than we have in mind. We would like our kids to be close in age, about 18-24 months apart. So, as soon as Coralyn turned 8 months old, my mind told me that it was time to get pregnant, immediately. I hate waiting! Well, one month of waiting turned into 2 and that turned into 3 and then 4. I was getting quite impatient and worried that my perfect plans of the kids being 18-24 months apart was not going to happen. (Heaven forbid!) Of course, God had everything under control, as He always does.

Around the beginning of October I started not to feel well, every day. I felt light-headed and dizzy. I was getting super tired, even though I would make an extra pot of coffee in the afternoon to try to boost my energy. I was hungry all the time, even though I was eating normally. So, I took a test at home to see if I might be pregnant. A big fat NO. I was disappointed but knew that God's timing is perfect (I just wanted Him to get on my timetable). A week later, I still felt sick and tired and hungry. I took another test. Got another NO. I decided I was probably just imagining my symptoms because I wanted to be pregnant so badly. Yet, I still didn't feel any different several weeks later. Figured maybe I could take another test, just for fun. Well, the result again wasn't what I wanted to see. Sigh. I guess I was a glutton for disappointment because a week later I took another test since I was still feeling yucky all the time. A fourth negative. By this time I decided that since I wasn't pregnant, I needed to figure out what was "wrong" with me. I made an appointment at the birthing center where Coralyn was born, at their women's clinic.

My appointment went like a normal visit and I started out with the usual trip to the bathroom. The nurse checked my vitals and asked about my symptoms. Then she did a pregnancy test. It was negative, so we went to get the midwife to draw my blood and do some tests that way to figure out why I was feeling icky. Another nurse came in, looked at the pregnancy test on the counter, and told me, "Congratulations!" I was quite surprised since 5 minutes earlier the same test had been negative. But sure enough, there was a line on the pregnant part!

The midwife isn't sure how far along I am since I took 4 tests at home and they were all negative. She figures I was only about 6 weeks or so at that time (the middle of November). If that is true, then the baby should arrive sometime in July. If I was pregnant before and the tests were all messed up, then the baby should arrive sometime in June. Guess God is going to keep us on our toes on this one and expect us to trust Him with the timing of things. Imagine that! I hate not knowing all the details, but I guess God knows them and that is enough.

The timing of the birth (whether June or July) is perfect because it won't interfere with my daycare families' routines. I can watch the kids until school is out in May and then not start up again when school starts in August.

It's also great that God provided the funds for me to go to Dallas this past weekend and take the Bradley natural childbirth training. I will be able to start teaching classes in February! With this new "job" I will still be able to stay at home, but not do daycare. I will be able to take Coralyn to the park and library. I can visit other stay-at-home moms during the day. I can be more actively involved with DC MOM, the mom's group at our church. So many positives, plus I get to help other couples learn about natural childbirth and prepare for their babies! It's a win-win situation.

And, as God showed me, He knew exactly what He was doing. The kids will be 21 months apart, right smack dab in the middle of my "required" 18-24 months. Funny, how that just "happened" to "work out."

I love God's sense of humor. I have prayed for twin boys, so we will see how His humor works out on that one. Watch, and we will have triplet girls :) Whatever the case, we are so excited to welcome another child (or more) to our family!

A Jumbled Mess

That's what I feel like today.

I am super excited about my trip to Dallas for the Bradley training. By going I will learn a whole lot about childbirth and be one step closer to being accredited to teach natural birth classes. I am thrilled that God provided the money for me to go on this trip. I am so thankful for the opportunity to meet other people who are interested and passionate about babies, pregnancy, childbirth, families, and other such related things. At the same time, I am sad about leaving. I would love for Lawrence and Coralyn to come with me, but that's just not realistic. I am going to miss them so much. I know that I will be busy attending seminars and filling my head with lots of technical terms and trying to process everything I am learning. But I fear that the days are going to creep by as I am away from my precious family. This will be the first time I have left Coralyn for more than a few hours. Granted, my mom is going to be taking care of her during the day and Lawrence will be with her in the evenings. She is in great hands. I am not nervous about that, though I do wonder about how Coralyn will do without me around as she tends to be a Mama's Girl. I know that I am going to cry when I say good-bye at the airport tonight and when I get on the plane on Sunday to return home, it won't be able to travel fast enough. And wouldn't you know it, my seat is in the very back of the plane. I already hate the deboarding process and think it takes far too long. I can only imagine how impatient I am going to be Sunday night.

Well, that's about it. I am a big jumbled mess today.

The Colors of Fall

I love autumn! It is my favorite season, second to spring. I enjoy all the vibrant colors as the leaves change and the perfect weather. Granted, I don't particularly like that the leaves fall from the trees and then completely cover your yard. I found out on Wednesday as I was running out to get the mail while all the kids took their naps that the massive amount of leaves in our yard were doing an excellent job of concealing a huge hole. I about twisted my ankle! But back to the good parts of fall, mainly the amazing shades of red, orange, and yellow.

I got to enjoy these colors up close this afternoon as I raked the seemingly endless amount of leaves in our front yard. I filled the yard waste container, having jumped in numerous times to press down the leaves. Yet, our yard didn't look like I had even raked a single leaf. Figured I would rake the remaining leaves into piles and Lawrence can take care of them tomorrow when he is back from deer hunting. Here is what I left for him:

Think Coralyn will have fun jumping in the piles of leaves? I look forward to our family time tomorrow afternoon!

The Simple Things

I have found myself smiling at Coralyn a lot lately, at very simple things.

Like a couple nights ago when I let the water out of the bathtub and told her the water was going bye-bye, and she started waving.

Or yesterday when she brought me the container of play dough and signed "please" so I would open it for her.

Or today when she handed me the bag of crayons and signed "more, please" because we had just finished coloring, but she evidently wasn't quite finished yet.

I smiled last night at supper when Coralyn tasted something she didn't like and instead of throwing it on the floor (like she usually has done) she handed it to me.

This morning after I finished changing one of the baby's diapers and Coralyn took the wipes and put them in the basket for me, I smiled.

And of course I had to smile as we sang "The Wheels on the Bus" and Coralyn did the actions for the first time.

When I saw Coralyn take a piece out of her farm animal puzzle and then put it back (actually getting it all the way in the hole) in the right place, I smiled at her accomplishment.

One of Coralyn's favorite "games" is to take all the toys out of container and then put the empty container on her head. She can't see, but she walks around laughing, and I just smile.

Lately, Coralyn has been bringing me books and turning around to sit on my lap, which makes me smile with utter joy as my heart overflows with love.

Of course I smile when I hear Coralyn say my name, laugh, or when she looks at me with a cute smile of her own.

One of my favorite times of the day is when Lawrence gets home from work and I tell Coralyn, "Daddy's here." She does a happy dance, squeals with delight, and heads to the door to greet him. That makes me smile.

Like I said, it's the simple things of life...

Coincidence, I Think Not

This past weekend was the beginning of deer season, which means we went to Sedalia so Lawrence could hunt at his parents' place. Last year Lawrence didn't see a single deer, except the dead ones his dad and brother shot. This year I have really been praying that Lawrence would get a deer, even 2 or more. Not only does actually shooting a deer makes getting up early and sitting quietly in cold weather for hours on end worthwhile, but it also means lots of cheap meat.

Friday evening we went out to eat (thanks to our volleyball team we had a free and delicious meal at Rancho Grande) then made a trip to Wal-Mart for Lawrence to get his deer tags and a box of bullets (270 Springfield, 150 grain) since he only had one bullet left. After making our purchases, we headed down to Sedalia.

The next morning Lawrence was up bright and early at 5 and out in his deer stand before 6. He loaded his one remaining bullet, plus 3 of the new ones, knowing he might need more than one shot to kill a deer. Then began the waiting. Around 7 he spotted a nice 8 point buck and looked for a good shot. Although he would have to shoot through some brush, Lawrence thought he had a neck shot and took it. The buck fell immediately, but was twitching and kept twitching as Lawrence got down from his stand to check out his deer. He figured he better shoot it once more to put the poor guy out his misery quickly. His gun kept jamming though. Lawrence looked to see what was wrong and only then discovered that the Wal-Mart guy had given him the wrong kind of bullets (30-06, 150 grain). Since he couldn't shoot the deer again, he had his brother come over and use his gun. Matt shot the buck in the neck again, but still the big fellow wouldn't die. While Matt came to get the four wheeler and trailer to haul the deer up to the garage for the skinning process, Lawrence stood watch by the buck and waited for him to finally give up and die. Since the buck wouldn't surrender, Lawrence had to take a 3rd shot. Thankfully, he had loaded his one good bullet first and was able to use it to get the deer down initially. If he had put any of the other 3 bullets in first, he wouldn't have been able to get the buck. Coincidence that out of 4 bullets, he loaded the only good one? I think not. God was totally in control.

Not only did God allow Lawrence to get a buck, but after it was skinned, cut up, and ground into meat, we had 62 pounds of burger and 6 pounds of jerky to take home. 68 pounds of meat is going to go a long way in feeding our family this winter. Once again God has blown us away with His abundant provision! Just to emphasize this point: Lawrence's brother Matt shot 2 does later that day and got 36 pounds total. Lawrence's one deer was double that amount! I love how God takes care of us, so much better than we could ever imagine.

Lucky 13

While 13 is my favorite number, I know there's nothing really lucky or unlucky about it. But it is definitely the best number this month since Coralyn is now 13 months old!

In honor of the number 13, I thought I would list 13 new things that Coralyn has added to her accomplishments:

1) She raises her arm and makes the noise for an elephant

2) She roars like a lion

3) She moos like a cow

4) She often lets me know when she needs to go potty and uses her special potty frequently throughout the day

5) She folds her hands to pray (my favorite!)

6) She can touch her toes (when we ask her where her toes are)

7) She can hold a crayon and "draw" or "color" a picture

8) She tries to put the matching puzzle piece in the correct spot (granted, she doesn't actually get it in the hole, but she has the right idea)

9) She can say "down" to let us know she wants down or is done with a meal

10) She goes to her chair when I tell everyone to go to their spots for a snack or lunch

11) She will get her socks and shoes for me when I say "let's go outside"

12) She will help clean up her toys

13) She will sit in my lap to read books or watch a Baby Einstein movie (the fact that she sits for any length of time is quite the accomplishment!)

I am so proud of my "Baby Girl!" She is growing up so fast. Part of me likes it and part of me is sad to see her become a "Big Girl" because I know she will never be a baby again. That's okay though. I am excited to see her continue to grow and learn new things. She will always be my baby no matter how old she is! :)

Family Time

Since Lawrence had Friday off, we enjoyed a 3-day weekend and got to spend lots of quality time together as a family, which was super nice since we didn't get hardly any time together during the week due to grad school, parent-teacher conferences, and meetings.

The pictures ended up being in opposite order, but oh well...

Lawrence and Coralyn at Trunk or Treat

Coralyn and me by the tree in our front yard, right before Trunk or Treat

Walking along at Deanna Rose...she would not let us hold her hand early in the day for family pictures (that little stinker!)

Lawrence pushing Coralyn on the little red tractor, which she absolutely loved.

I was a bit sad when I woke up this morning, knowing that the weekend was over and that the week ahead would be busy as usual. BUT I am so thankful for the time we had together this weekend. I am blessed with an amazing husband and a wonderful little girl! Family time is definitely one of my favorite things in the whole entire world!