Bird Sanctuary

Judith insisted they hold hands.



The jury's still out on what this was... a muskrat? a small beaver? I guess we'll never know.



"New Lambie" comes with us everywhere now.



Where there are kids and rocks and water, there will be kids throwing rocks into water. It never gets old!



Or sometimes... there are just kids and rocks.



"Hey, wait up guys!"



"Mama, I saw a duck back there and it was thiiiiiiis big!"



"Wait for meeeee!"



Looking for rocks...



Wildlife!



Undoubtedly pondering something profound.



Exercise + Sunshine = Happily Worn Out Children

I'm Alive, I Just Don't Have Time

I really want to post pictures of our adventures at the bird sanctuary and our camping trip, but I just haven't had the time! I will get at that soon, hopefully.

I had a midwife appointment today (I'm 20 weeks!), and all looks well besides my bloodwork showing that I am no longer immune to Rubella, and my midwife thinks I have a hernia. The top of my belly is sore and bulging a bit, I thought it was just stretching from pregnancy, but my midwife wants me to go see a doctor and get an ultrasound to confirm. I really don't have time for these kinds of things, haha.

I have two sales coming up next week for the Servants Anonymous Foundation. I'm not the sales person, I do admin from home, but the sales person has stepped back so I have to do these. I really, truly love and believe in this organization. They are totally worth supporting. Sales are not my forte at all, but something I need to do because summer is our worst time for sales and we need to meet the budget. If you want to see our products you can go here. If anyone is interested in ordering anything, you can do so through me and I can ship. There is some really cute baby stuff! Or if you are local I can give you the location of the upcoming sales if you're interested, just leave a comment and I will contact you personally.

I know I don't really post a lot of personal stuff here, but I could use some prayer right now. I have been doing really well for the last while, but suddenly I am being bombarded with a lot of stuff (the hernia and work stuff is just the tip of the iceberg), and am getting extremely stressed and weighed down mentally and emotionally. This is my first pregnancy that hasn't been plagued by depression, and I hope I can continue to hold everything together.

Ultrasound Comparison

Judith



Gideon



Baby 3.0



Ultrasounds are kind of vague, but it's still fun to compare...

What Little Miss 3.0 Has Taught Me Already...

~Time is best spent outside.

~"The Bare Minimum" is still a huge accomplishment.

~It's perfectly ok to leave the dishes until we run out of cutlery.

~It is possible to survive on very little sleep.

~It's ok to leave it until tomorrow if I just can't muster up the energy to do it today.

~I'm going to be late anyway, so I might as well leave the house with a smile instead of a bad word.

~Cleaning schedules only cause guilt.

~It's possible to have a great day after a terrible night.

~Things are always going to get spilled, dumped or broken. It's pointless to get angry (P.S. get the 3.5 year-old to clean it up).

~Sometimes it's best to just relinquish control and go with the flow.

~At some point, I will actually have the energy, and it will actually get done.

~My kids are a lot of fun. Housework is not. You do the math.

(My new house-cleaning strategy is to just do what I can whenever I feel like it. It's hard for me to give up a schedule, but it is also quite liberating. Surprisingly, my house is no worse that it was before. Often it's actually better, and I'm not weighed down by the guilt of 'failing' to complete my tasks.)

So Many Blessings!

48 - Seeing that tiny, little beating heart!

49 - Knowing that the baby is most likely a girl. I feel like I'm in on a big, cosmic secret!

50 - Watching my little baby moving around, kicking, and clenching her fists. It's amazing to almost get a glimpse of her personality already!

51 - Getting to pee after the ultrasound.

52 - A wonderful day out with my husband for his birthday!

53 - Eating embarrassing amounts of the best popcorn that ever existed at a little indie theatre.

54 - A baby boy that walks up to me regularly looking for hugs.



55 - A day out shopping with my big girl. Complete with new shoes and cinnamon buns.



56 - Plans to go camping this weekend!

57 - How much Judith loves and interacts with her little sister already.

58 - Tim Horton's Iced Cappuccinos.

59 - Butter. I could just eat a whole stick of it right now.

60 - Cheesecake for breakfast.

Bringing on the Estrogen!

The technician at my ultrasound this morning was pretty sure the baby is a girl.

She's cute like her siblings. ♥ You can see her heart here too, that was the first thing I saw when the technician put the wand up to my belly, it was precious.



I love the freaky face-shots. And that's her hand up there, the ball-like thing. She had her hands in fists the whole time, just like her big sister did! God help me...



Feet!



It took the technician about 15 minutes to get a picture of the open hand. She kept jiggling my belly to try and get the baby to open her hand. My poor bladder!



EEEEE, I love her so much already! I'm so so tempted to go and buy a bunch of girly diapers!

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy 30th Birthday to my Beloved, my Davey.















Times have been rough lately, but that doesn't affect our love, for which I am so grateful. No matter what happens in this life I know that as long as you live you will always love me and always be here with me. No one knows or understands me like you, and yet you still love me despite knowing the real me. You are patient with me and let me learn and heal at my own pace. You will leave me alone when I need it. You are forever encouraging me and seeing more in me than I think actually exists. I wouldn't be nearly as strong or confident as I am now if it weren't for you. You challenge me to constantly grow. You know what I like, and you know how to joke with me just right, which may be a small thing, but it means a lot. I don't think there is anyone else in the entire world that is totally on the same wavelength as us, and I love that we have that special, supernatural connection, that no one else can interfere with.

Thank you for the beautiful children, and for taking care of us. You are leading our family in the fear of God and it is very admirable. Your passion for God and the Truth is inspiring. I know that you will never give in to the status quo and never stop seeking, even though it is always against the flow. I find a lot of security in this.

I hope that this next year holds new things for you, and us as a family. I pray that God has good things in store for your 30th year, just as He has said.