A Change in Plans

Okay, my doc office called last night....Wayne will be here Monday if he does not come on his own! I am a bit nervous because I had the mind set of Weds. and now I have 2 less days to prepare my house and family but I can't wait to see his beautiful face....and my feet!

It's been awhile....

Okay so it's been a long time and this will not be long. We have moved and are settled. Everyone is happy and I love all the room.
If Wayne does not decide to appear on his own, I will be induced Weds. Nov. 26th at 7:30am. I know this is the day before Thanksgiving but it was much more important to me to be home for Ryan's birthday which is the 29th. Also, the hospitals policy is to let you go home 24 hours after baby's 1st feed so i should be home Thanksgiving evening anyway.
We are putting up our Christmas tree Saturday so I do not have to worry about it after Wayne is born. The next few days will be spent preparing all that needs to be done for Wayne's arrival. A friend, Erin, is throwing a brunch in celebration of the new baby which will be Saturday morning at 10am. This I am looking forward to, food and girl talk...FUN!!! Especially since all I get is boys boys boys!
I have many many pics to show so i will most likely wait until I post pics of Wayne. So, until then, please pray for a healthy delivery and baby.

CF Husband/Tricia update

For those of you familiar with the blog, you must read the newest post and for those of you who have not read it, you must, from beginning to end if you can. This blog is a treasure. It is a living testimony to our Lord's grace and His love. However, the newest post is sad and this beautiful family is in much need of prayer. You can find a link on the right side of my blog and I encourage you to please take the time to read it and lift this family up in prayers.

Wayne Update

It seems as though Wayne's kidneys are just fine. My amniotic fluid is normal so my doc really doubts a blockage as most of our amniotic fluid is made up of baby's urine. We are not going to worry about it but mention it to his pediatrician on his 1st visit and go from there.
My OB said most babies take 30 mins. to see them take a breath on a ultrasound, Wayne was breathing like he just ran a marathon! I asked if that was okay since he said he had never seen it before and he said it was great, Wayne also would not stop moving around, so the doc and I agreed we have a lively one on our hands! Everything looked real good so I am pleased and although I was not worrying myself to death about it, I can now have more peace of mind.

On another note, we are fixing to move (yea!) but we are moving to a location that only allows me dial-up (unless I want to pay $100/month for high speed). So, my blogging will be limited if at all:( I know I do not have a league of followers, but I do enjoy doing it so I am a bit disappointed. This should all take place in approx. 3-4 weeks.

Ryan really enjoyed his field trip to the pumpkin patch. Kolton goes tomorrow to the Democratic and Republican headquarters downtown for a Alpha field trip. And, Jacob goes next Friday to a pumpkin patch as well which I am really hoping to be able to attend.

My front tooth has chipped and cracked:( I am going Tuesday for a cleaning and consultation to see what we can do to fix it and the one beside it since it is half "fake" from a childhood accident. I am very very nervous about the Novocaine needle as I can not have the funny gas 1st because of pregnancy. So pray for me and my nerves.

And on a final note, we took the kids to the zoo Saturday afternoon and we all had a great time. I got some good pics and a video I will post asap.

Quick Update

Not much new really. The kids are doing great with school. Kolton had a few adjustments to make this year but is now thriving. Ryan gets to go to a pumpkin patch in Greenbriar for his very 1st field trip this Friday. He will be able to bring home his own little pumpkin which is good because that is one less for us to get. We usually end up with 6, 3 big, 3 small. This year we will add 1 more for James. Jacob will also get to go to a pumpkin patch with his class in about 2 weeks, he is also very excited. Jacob will start to receive speech therapy twice a week at school which is good. He has not had it in about 6 months and although his speech has improved tremendously, he still needs some help, especially with clarity.
My belly is growing alot. I don't know how I still have 8 weeks left when I look at how big it is! Wayne seems to be doing great, moving around all the time. My weight guess is 8lbs. 14 oz but we'll see, James was 9lbs even but Wayne doesn't feel as big as James did when he moves inside me (even though my belly is tremendous).
Other than that, not much else going on within our little family. I will have some exciting updates here soon.

Humpty Dumpty a.k.a. Ryan

So this morning we went to the kids school for the annual kindergarten Mother Goose nursery rhyme recital. Ryan did Humpty Dumpty. last night when I told him we needed to get a costume together he started crying saying he didn't want to dress like Humpty Dumpty. I calmed him down and told him to at least try and then see what he thought. So, we put together a costume and I let him look in the mirror and he was so happy with himself. I asked him why he was upset before and he said because he thought if he dressed up like Humpty dumpty, he would fall down and crack like Humpty Dumpty! LOL! Kids really say the darnedest things. He did a great job and obviously we were so proud of him. Here are pics of our Humpty Dumpty.

Baby Wayne and other things...

We found out today that Wayne has an abnormal amount of fluid in his little kidney's. This is common in boys due to their "plumbing". It could possibly be caused by an obstruction and in that case, he would need surgery when he was born. We are praying that the latter is not the issue. I will have another ultrasound in a month and see if the amount of fluid has increased, decreased or is the same and go from there. We are praying that it will be a non issue or at the worst a small issue easily fixed.
John seems to still be doing good and is back to work, not physically but driving around doing his thing...surprise surprise right? NOT!!! We are still praying that this surgery will be more successful than the previous ones.
We lost our power due to Ike. Went out Sunday at midnight and came back on Maonday morning at around 9am. I was so very thankful that John and Hazel had an extra generator for us to use so we had 2 TV's, a fridge and a fan. God is good! Gustav was much more devastating to Little Rock, but Ike affected us more personally due to the power outage.
Not much else new here, will update again soon.

John

For those of you who read my blog and know my dad in law, John, he came out of surgery well today. Apparently, it went well, they put a cast on too, which if you know him, that is a great thing!
He went into surgery at 10:30 am and Jeremy called to tell me John and Hazel were on their way home at a little after 2:00 pm. This is also great news!
Continue to keep him in your prayers, I imagine we will know more as he starts to heal.

School Update

God has answered many prayers for me as far as the school issues go. Jacob is still not allowed to take his lunch but this was a answered prayer even though I didn't like the answer...at first. He has been making do with what is served to him and eats at least 1 thing everyday (plus 2 snacks). It might not sound great but to me it's awesome. It has got him eating new things at home too. A couple of days ago he ate a few slices of hard salami! (mommy had a preggo craving). I am so proud of him, words can not explain. He has seemed to resolve any issues he had with his friend Issac and this also makes me happy. Every moring he says 1st thing that he doesn't want to go to school but he still gets up and eats breakfast without much of a fight (which is also new since school started) and gets dressed and puts on his shoes and off he goes.
Ryan is still doing awesome and loving every minute of it. He is adjusting to his new schedule and we no longer have evenings full of crying, another prayer answered!
Kolton got a different teacher, he was upset at first but he likes the new one, although I am not liking that he doesn't get homework or daily/weekly reports. The homework I feel is important to challenge his very smart mind and to get him ready for middle school which will be here before he knows it, but I'm sure he will have some now and again. We got his benchmark scores from last April today. In Math he scored over 200 points more than the school and state average, and for literacy he scored over 100 points over the average for the school and state. This is not surprising to us, we know that he is very smart and he was proud of himself, which he should be! Go Kolton!!!
Anyway, I just wanted to share how God has worked in my life lately. To others, these issues may seem trivial, but to me it was heart breaking and God took care of it for me.

And the Baby's Name is......

Wayne Edward Redd. Wayne is Jeremy's middle name, and his uncles name is Dewayne. Edward is John's middle name. So there we go. The last time we have to give a boy a name. This one was hard to do but we are both happy with what we have chosen.

Tears

We had tears this morning from Jacob:( Yesterday I finally found out one name from each kid of their "friends". Ryan's friend is Gavin and although Ryan says he gets in trouble a lot, he's still his friend. I told him that's fine but not to get into trouble with him! But, that I was glad he is learning names of other students.
Jacob said his friends name is Issac. I was so proud of him for being able to say the boys name. As we know, Jacob does have some speech delays, and this worries me to no end about how he is getting along in school. My prayer is that school helps him progress with it, not revert backwards due to frustration.
Anyway, later last night, we found out that Issac tried to steal his chips, pushed him and hit him in the face...great friend. However, I suppose this can be categorized as "kid stuff" but it hurts a mommy's heart. Now, I know that it is very very possible that Jacob contributed to these situations in some form, I'm not blind to my children. Regardless, we told him to try his best to still be nice and if this boy doesn't stop to tell the teacher. This to me is a sticky situation. If Jacob tells, I really don't want him to grow into a tattle tell, however, if Jacob deals with it his self, he will also get in trouble and will not be any better of than the other kid.
Anyway, last night awhile after the Issac revelation, Jacob told me he didn't want to go to school. He loved me and wanted to stay home with me and he missed me. Well you must know that at that point I wanted to snatch him up and tell him he never had to go to school again! Is that what I did, no. I know that I can't do that. So we talked for a minute then I told him to get some sleep and we'd talk about it again in the morning, praying he was just tired and had a long week.
No such luck.....this morning that was the first thing he said to me, he's not going to school. After a lot of discussion (and a small bribe of renting a movie after school for being such a big boy), loads of tears, and taking an hour to eat and get dressed, he was still crying when Hazel got here with Kolton (who spent the night at his mom's). As Hazel and I started talking, Jacob made a transformation! He got out of the chair, got his bag and started talking to his brothers and opening the door to leave! It was seriously like nothing had ever happened, none of the tears had ever fell! He was happy. I was happy.
I was 100% prepared to send Jacob off to school crying and not wanting to go. Yes, it would have torn me into a million pieces. Jeremy and I have decided that we need to give it a few weeks to see if he just needs adjusting and not be so tired, get used to his new routine (he's had the same routine for over 3 years now, it has to be hard to change). Or, if maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. His speech therapist had suggested awhile back that we may want to consider holding him back 1 year for kindergarten and we went off and put him in pre-k, a year before kindergarten is supposed to even start. Our thinking was he was ready and that instead of hindering his speech (not being able to communicate like the rest or even enough to be understood may cause frustration and cause him to clam up and withdraw), this would actually help it. Now, we'll have to wait and see.
I am glad for now this has a good ending. I have already prayed for him twice today and am sure that will not be the last time. I have looked to the Lord a lot these past few days for help with sending my babies off to school. It has affected me in ways I didn't think it would, I am crushed by it. Ryan is doing well, I am almost positive he is enjoying himself and is getting into a routine and knows school is a permanent thing now, with 2 days off after many days of school. And Kolton is a pro and he knows everyone in his class. He knows his teacher fairly well, more than any other he's had. He is also getting to do things this year that he hasn't been able to do before, like play the recorder (a plastic flute like instrument). And he is starting the Alpha program this year which is a special class once a week for kids who do well academically plus have shown themselves to be creative and imaginative in their work. We are so proud of him, and he is proud of himself with that (though not in a boasting way at all) and I think that is great. I pray for him that he will continue to enjoying learning and do well.
Please, if you read this, pray for me and Jacob. Pray that I will know if God is telling me what to do with Jacob and not just a mother's heart telling her what to do.

James

I realized that I have not posted pics of James lately, so I though it would be good to do that.

It's funny how much time I have on my hands now with all the boys at school. James still needs me obviously, but he naps and when he naps, I have to find stuff to do.

So, these pics above James has just woken from a nap. He goes to sleep very well and wakes up in a great mood instantly. The other boys were not like that. I am hoping the new baby will take a bit more after his brother James when it comes to sleeping habits:)

It is rare that I don't get a picture like this one. He is very interested in the camera, as you can see.

School update.....yesterday was good. Ryan got to eat his lunch and Jacob ate a snack and some of his school lunch. Jacob was in a great mood last night, I believe he is actually taking a nap at school. Ryan still had some crying sprees but they were better than the previous night. Adjustment will come with some time.

The Last Few Days.....

Let us start with Sunday. Sunday, Ryan got baptised. He was nervous about the water situation. For the past few summers, anytime he has had an opportunity to go swimming (which is often since Mamaw and Papaw have had a pool for awhile), in the beginning he always wants to sit on the stairs, then as summer starts coming to a close, he feels comfortable going out into the pool. Even though I love my husband dearly I think he has had a part in this because Jeremy used to throw him around in the pool even though Ryan didn't want him too and has caused Ryan to be scared:(

But, back to Sunday. You will see in the pics below that Ryan looks a bit scared, it looked worse in person but he was brave and he wanted to do it, he was just nervous about the water. I am so proud of him that even though he had that fear, he overcame it to be baptised.

Ryan, getting into the water..........

Here, John is asking Ryan if he wants to be baptised, Ryan is at a loss for words anticipating being "dunked".

About to go into the water.....

And up he comes.....a baptised Ryan. I am so glad that John got to do this. It is nice for our family and I am sure made Ryan feel a bit more secure. He trusts his Papaw very much, as he should:)

After all was said and done, we stood as a family for all to come and give Ryan a hug and I was able to give him a hug and kiss on the head and tell him how proud of him I was. After Ryan got out of the water, Jeremy was waiting for him on the stairs to help him get dry and dressed. Jeremy told him how proud he was of him and Ryan said that he was so proud of himself that daddy was proud of him. Too cute.

Now, on to Monday...the first day of school. We all went together for the 1st day. After a quick hug and subtle kiss on the head, we got Kolton off to his class, where he had got the teacher he was hoping for and that we know personally, Jeremy more than I. He was ready and set like an old pro.

We then took Ryan to his class. I got him set up with a few supplies at his desk as requested by his teacher whom I also was hoping he would get:) He pretty much had the attitude of okay mom, you can go now. I told him I loved him, gave a hug and off we went across the hall to drop off Jacob. We walked him in. Got him sat down and although he seemed a bit nervous (you could tell because he was quite, a very rare occurrence), he was happy to be there. I also gave him a hug goodbye and walked out. I stood in the hall for about 30 seconds then peeked in first on Ryan who was sitting there coloring the picture that had been waiting for him at his table. Then Jacob who was just sitting there, taking everything in. No tears, not even for mommy (I did that all day Sunday).

When they got home I was bombarded with look at this and let me tell you about this. I had had a plan to start with one kid, sit down with them, let them tell me about their day and look through their stuff with them...yeah right mom, what were you thinking? Eventually I was able to talk to each of them individually and go through their stuff. Kolton is going to get to play a recorder this year that he can practice at home...yea, so excited about that. He had a great day and got to sit between to girls! He didn't really want to talk about that:)

Ryan also had a great day, he had fun and played with many kids and said he made friends. No one was mean to him and he said he was nice too. This has been my biggest fear with the 2 small ones. No one to play with, no one to eat lunch with, no one to talk too. I guess I can get over that! However, there was some lunch time confusion and even though I had packed a made to order lunch, he didn't get to eat it. It was a miscommunication and Jeremy sorted that out with his teacher this morning, so today he should be able to eat lunch.

Jacob also had a good day, his teacher said he was quite and good. Thank the Lord!!! You understand if you know Jacob! When he got home, he was so proud of his empty take home folder. Again, too cute:) We also had lunch issues here. When we signed Jacob up for this pre-k class, we didn't have a bunch of info for it but decided he needed to go to learn, gain some extra social skills and hopefully help with his speech even more than I am doing. We were not aware of the fact that even though breakfast and lunch is provided for them for free, he CAN'T take his own lunch. This I do not like. As I stated above, I had reason for enrolling him in this class, and one of them was NOT so someone could tell me what my child can and can not eat! When Jeremy talked to his teacher this morning about it, she said she had several questions for the director of the program and she would add this to her list. Well, okay but what if he ends up not being able to take his lunch. i have browsed the lunch menu for the next 5-6 weeks. He will end up only eating 1-2 things only 2-3 days a week! I know my child, especially Jacob can be picky, but this should not mean he can't eat. He needs to eat to have energy and have a good day, I think of all people, school personnel should know this. So, we'll see the outcome of this soon, and worse case scenario, I tell Jacob he can't take his lunch and he needs to try food on his try and eat what he can. This will not go over well with him, but I think he wants to be at school so badly that he will get over it. At least he does have snacks and drinks through out the day.

Last night was tough. Ryan and Jacob were both so very tired. They cried about everything and bed time was earlier than normal and they hated that but obviously need good sleep. I am hoping they will get adjusted soon so we don't have to go through evenings like last night for too much longer.

I will try to post at the end of the week about how the rest of the school weeks went.

And the baby is a .......

Boy. Yes yes, another boy:) We are good with that and have decided that God wants us to raise 5 great husbands and then maybe we'll get our girls:)
He looks really good, everything is growing well. Now, we just need a name. We are at a standstill with this as we seem to have run out of names we like. We are staying away from anything starting with a "J" due to the fact that we have in this house...Jeremy, Jacob, James and one day we know Kolton is going to want to go by his 1st name, John.
He is due December 3rd still but we all know how that goes..they come when they want to or have to be "forced" out when the doc decides.
The boys were a tad upset but I just told them that this was what God gave us and they'll love him just as much as they love each other and they got over it when we watched the ultrasound video together.
I will post Monday eveing about the 1st day of school and Ryans baptism.

Not much new here

Like the title says, not much new here. We are getting ready for school to start. Friday we go to open house so we can show Ryan and Jacob around and find out who has what teacher, Kolton is holding out for a particular teacher that has been there since Jeremy attended.
We are counting down the days to find out if God has blessed us with another boy or a girl, this will happen friday morning, I will post that afternoon.
The main reason I am posting today is I read a post on Confessions of a CF Husband and was just inspired by it. This family is a wonderful testimony of God's love and the true love of a husband and wife. Again, I encourage you to read it if you haven't already.
Oh, Ryan is being baptized Sunday evening! We have been talking to him about this on and off since the beginning of the year. I have been telling him that he does not need to be baptised to go to heaven but that it would make God smile if he would do it. Sunday morning Jeremy asked him if he had thought about it any more and if he thought he might be ready and he said yes. Well, actually he said, "sure, I don't care, that's fine". So, during invitation Sunday morning, he went down and talked to Bro. Joe (our pastor) about it and it is set for Sunday evening. As far as I know Papaw (John) is going to do it with Bro. Joe in there with them. John is associated pastor ( I think that is what the title is) so this allows him to do to the baptism. It seems that any fear Ryan has had of the water, God has given him peace about it and he is ready. I am so proud of him and am glad that our "do not push it" approach worked for him. i will obviously post w/ pics about this asap.
Until Friday.....

What Is New With The New Baby.....

I went to the doc today, for the baby. Not my regular obgyn as I am still waiting for medicaid, but an obgyn none the less. The baby's heart sounds great although the baby kept moving aropund so we didn't hear it but for a few seconds at a time but hey, movement is good:)
Everything else was normal and I am scheduled there for an ultrasound and more lab work in 2 weeks. Unless I get my medicaid early this week, I will keep this appointment and finally find out the much anticipated answer to the question of...boy, or girl?
I have been calling the baby "he" because well, I guess that is what I am used to, but it will be nice to finally put a proper name to this sweet pea.
Not much else new here. Boys are doing great, getting ready for school. We found out Jacob can not ride the bus (which really is sort of all right with me), so one way or another, all 3 boys will be getting a ride to and from school. This broke Jacob's heart into tiny pieces but once I finally put it to him that he either took the car or didn't go...he was okay. He is excited. Ryan is excited, mommy is not.
I will post again asap.

Interesting BBQ Facts for Calorie Counters

Okay, so I saw this article and was a bit shocked at a few of the helpful tips on calorie counting and BBQ. Thought I would share.
http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatthis/10435/the-best-and-worst-summer-barbeque-foods/

Please pray

I have talked from time to time about another blog called Confessions of a CF Husband. For those of you who have checked it out, Tricia needs your prayers now, maybe more than ever. For those of you who haven't read it yet, you should, I feel your missing a blessing from God by not doing so. Their story is full of ups and downs but I truly feel blessed to have read it and that they have allowed, us, the rest of the world, in their lives in this way. So, look over at my blog list and click and read then pray.

Also, poor baby James is sick again or still...he has been running a pretty high fever for almost 24 hrs. now and has had a cough for about 10 days and is still playing with his ears, I am thinking the "fluid" has turned into a infection. We go to the doc tomorrow afternoon, so please pray he will get to feeling better, it is tough on my heart when the little ones don't feel well and there isn't much you can do besides comfort them.

Happy Birthday Jacob...again

Okay, so I forgot to take my camera, so I have no pics:( But, Saturday was a nice afternoon with the family. We had a great BBQ, thanks to Uncle David. The kids went swimming with Jeremy and that was funny...5 kids yelling, Uncle Jeremy (or Daddy), throw me, throw me! He had his hands full but had a good time. James even got into the pool and had a fun time in his baby floatie splashing his little hand in the water.
The kids then of course had to open their presents and Katie and Jacob got lots of fun toys from Mamaw and Papaw and Aunt Mandy and Uncle David. Jacob got this learn to be spider man dvd that teaches him spidey "moves"...thanks Mamaw...LOL, just kidding:)
Then we all dug into an awesome Baskin and Robbins ice cream cake, yummy. We had a #4 candle on it for Jacob and a #5 candle for Katie, it was funny because when you looked at the cake, it looked like someone was turning 45!
I am so happy for Mandy and the kids that they have moved somewhere farther away they needed to be for personal reasons, but it is hard because all my boys just adore Mandy's kids.
So, Jacob turned 4 and when all was said and done, he ended up having had 4 cakes this past week ( Ms. Loretta, his Sunday School teacher was so sweet to get him a cake and each kid a gift, she loves her class like they were her own and tends to spoil them).
So, this draws an end to Jacob's birthday (thank goodness!). Next is mine...I am trying to organize a night out with some friends from church, which would really great.

More about medicaid....called again this morning and with little improvement. They found my case worker and when I talked to her, she seemed like she could care less, took my phone number then hung up. I have made a appointment with a local community womans clinic that costs very little per visit, but I have gone that route before and it is really not what I want to do, but at the same time I need the prenatal care, so now my prayer is that medicaid will give me some answers before this appointment so I can go back to my original obgyn. He is just to good of a doc to not fight for my baby to be in his care. So, again please keep praying that what is best for our baby will be in God's will and that it'll all work out.

Happy Birthday Jacob....Your 4!!!

Yesterday was Jacob's 4th birthday. He woke up literally thinking he was bigger. I played along and told him he had grown and showed him about an inch measured out with my fingers. He was happy. All day long he would stop and tell me to look at how big he was.

This past Friday, we played putt putt with some friends, Brent and Bradley and their dad for Jacob and Bradley's birthdays.

Bradley and Jacob ready to blow out the candles, they each had their own side.

here is Jacob with Brent and Bradley. They all had fun, but Bradley won...go Bradley:)

Last night we had a simple evening at home with presents and cake. Jacob is really into Batman and Superman right now so he requested a Superman cake, which even though I knew he wouldn't eat it (he doesn't really like cake), he got. He also got Batman walkie talkies and a batman mask that has light up eyes.

I think the above pics are self explanatory, however, the following may need some explanation....

Okay, so the above is a constant going on in our home with Ryan and Jacob. I don't know if it is because they are so close in age or what, but they are always play fighting like this. I almost always stop it, but there is the rare time it is just too funny ( I am not sure if that makes me a bad mom, but I don't feel like it does). The Batman mask added fuel to the fire. Jacob feels that when he wears something like this, he actual is the "superhero". Anyway, I had to take the picture.

Saturday holds another "party" for Jacob and cousin Katie. We will have cake and swimming at mamaw and papaw's. I will post (with pics) about this asap.

On another quick note...I called medicaid again and they can not seem to find my 2nd application...you've GOT to be kidding me right? They transferred me to the person in charge of handing off the applications to case workers, she wasn't at her desk and I left her a message, with no response. Please keep praying as I keep praying and trying to keep my cool about this situation:)

James-8 months old

Today James is 8 months old and I am wondering where all the time has gone! He is growing fast. In the past week he has become a lot more mobile. he still does is army crawl but he so fast. He is eating all kinds of foods, potatoes, carrots, green beans, raisins, bread, cheese, he even likes small pieces of chicken. Today he had his first small nibble of cake.....very small and it was a mistake because he wanted more, duh mommy:)

Friday night he spent his first night away from home. He spent the night with mamaw and papaw so we could take the bigger boys to play putt putt after the sun went down and it wasn't so hot. He did great! I wasn't too worried, the worries you have with your first child seem not as bothersome with each child, plus mamaw and papaw are great. He went to bed like a champ around 8ish and didn't wake up until 7am...go James! I was happy mamaw didn't have to get up through the night to feed him. I didn't sleep that well, I guess because in the back of my mind I knew he wasn't here.

Back to the mobility....James is pulling up on everything which started this week, the couch, chairs, table etc....and just stands there and you can tell he is so proud of himself. He has mastered his dismount from this standing postion over the past 2 days. We have had only 2 episodes in the past week where he didn't land right and banged his little head, I try to just play it off like it is funny, but that doesn't work just yet, although I know it will eventually, we've done it with the others.

When he isn't proudly standing here there and everywhere, he is either playing in his brothers room (which has been James proofed) or spending time in his new favourite spot, the living room window (pic above).

On another note....the new baby is doing well I imagine. I am feeling several movements daily now at 20 weeks. My body on the other hand is not doing so hot. for some reason I have been feeling very dizzy for the past 2 days. I feel as though my body is maybe lacking something? My obgyn is not in on Monday's so I will check in with the nurse tomorrow and see what she says, this is actually one "symptom" I have never endured with the other 3 pregnancies. I will be checking in with medicaid this week so keep praying please:)

I will post again soon about all the birthday fun Jacob has been and will be having for birthday #4.

Prayer request...

Okay, I need some prayer and maybe some anger management at this point. My obgyn will not make my next appointment until they have my medicaid number which I applied for a month ago. I called DHS yesterday and it seems they have misplaced my application which now means I have to go to my obgyn and get another proof of pregnancy and resubmit another medicaid application (this time in person instead of via mail). It says it can take up to 45 days to process, however the man I talked to at DHS yesterday said since I already have family planning medicaid, I will not be denied and it should only take 2 weeks to switch it over to pregnancy medicaid, well that's fine except I should be seeing my doc this week, but instead I will be seeing him in about 3 weeks. I am pretty sure all is well with the baby because I am still sick everyday so my hormones are growing as they should and I have felt a flutter here and there of movement (I am almost 19 weeks). It would just make me feel alot better to see the doc on schedule. But it looks as though I will be at least 3 weeks late for that:(
So, having said all this, please pray that all is well with our baby and that medicaid will do there job properly this time and maybe with a bit of speed:)
I appreciate your prayers:)

John and Hazel

I realized today that I had yet to post about my in laws. I am pleased beyond words to say that I have wonderful in laws. They raised a great son thus giving me a wonderful husband and great dad. I trust them with our children with everything in me. They are terrific grandparents in so many ways. I would be the happiest mother alive if my children grew up to be like their mamaw and papaw.
I can not lie and say it was always like this. In the beginning of my relationship with Jeremy there was lots of tension between my in laws and I, and was caused by so many things (mainly things Jeremy and/or I did that were wrong). I am not sure about them, but I feel that a blessing that came out of Jeremy falling out of the tree was our relationship. To me that is when we finally started to get to know each other and some time had passed since Jeremy and I stopped acting so stupid for lack of a better word.
Since then it has been a relationship that continues to grow and I am so thankful to have them in my life. And as I said before, my children's lives. Thank you John and Hazel for being the wonderful parents and grandparents that you are:)

VBS'08 Family Night

I was not able to take pics of last night:(
However, it was a great turn out. Larger than I can remember for a family night since I have taught VBS. We had a great time with the kids, giving their parents and/or grandparents a touch of all the fun we all had this past week. There was one song we all sang that had an echo effect in it, so...all the young kids (K-5th) would turn around and face the youth, the youth would sing (or yell) the line in the song and the younger kids would echo it back. It basically was a yelling match but it was really fun.
The parents and/or grandparents came by the rooms to see them and meet the teachers, and then we all headed out to the fellowship hall where we had hot dogs and a bunch of other goodies.
A group of kids that attended actually brothers and sisters live a few houses down from Jeremy and i. We see them at least 3 times a week as we pass their house and have for almost 3 years now. Today for the first time as we were headed past their house, one of the boys was outside and not only was he wearing all the army "gear" he got from VBS but he was smiling a big smile and waving hello to us. I have 2 points to make with this...
1. I am ashamed to say that we (Jeremy and/or I) had never taken the time to wave at any of them before...but....
2. I was soooo happy that some sort of impression was left on this child that he recognized us (we only taught him 1 out of 5 nights) and stopped what he was doing to wave.
Like I have said a few times now, that alone made all the VBS prep, running around, sweating, etc...all worth it!

Jeremy and I clean our church weekly and we went up today to clean and was not looking forward to the clean up after VBS, but thanks to our loving church family, we had not much extra to do. Thank you to all who helped out in that area. You will never know how much Jeremy and I appreciated it.

VBS 2008

Okay, so VBS is now over. We have family night tomorrow, but the classes are over. It was a great time with great kids, youth and adults (and plenty of water balloons). I enjoyed teaching with Jeremy and I think we worked well together (although I missed you Aimee). No one got saved directly, but like I said before we all planted many seeds that will maybe one day grow into salvation. I know all the children and adults each learned something new. Here is Jeremy, solider of God:)

Here is a pic of our youth group this year.

A pic of Preschool, making their shields of faith.

A pic of our adults back row left to right: Darlene, Janice, Robert, JD

Front row, left to right; Uncle Lou and Jeremy.

Bro. Joe talking with Uncle Lou and Bro. Robert.

Our youth teachers, Bill and Lisa (with Joe T. in the back ground).

My FIL, Papaw to my boys but this week, he was Commander John:)

Our cross in church, covered with the pieces of the Armor of God.

Group ages K-gr. 1. Erin and Krystal are great eachers and the kids just love them.

Jon and Aimee's class, this night they had grades 4th and 5th. This was a great group to teach in their own ways:)

Some of the kids: Cymber, Abby, and Brent T. This pic occured after they all got cleaned up after being covered in shaving cream...even Jon and Aimee. As you can see the fingers are pointed at Jon for that!

Ms. Mary with grade 2nd and 3rd making their Bible covers..there's Kolton:)

More activity for the youth group, always a large group, they always have a blast getting wet and dirty:)

Ryan, making his shield of faith.

Jacob also making his shield of faith:)

Kolton working intensely on his Bible cover:)

Erin and Krystal had the K-1 grades this night, they are working on their helmets of salvation. Joe T. in the background helping out. Joe taught VBS for the first time this year and I think he did a great job bringing glory to God and spreading the gospel:)

2 pics that may bring the idea to you of what our theme was...

This was a great experience and I wish all could have it. We have family night tomorrow and I will take more pics and post them soon:)

Prayer Request

Okay, so I know I said I wouldn't be posting for a few weeks but this is important. For those of you have not made CF Husband a regular read, Tricia has cancer in her brand new lungs. It seems to have been caused by mono that can cause cancer in transplant organs, but maybe just transplant lungs. Please pray for Nate, Tricia and sweet sweet Gwyneth. I know God will pull them through this yet again another toughtime. But I know our prayers would sure help. Check out my blog roll to connect to their site.

PINK

Here is a link I found from the CF blog. This is another wonderful story with a sad ending, yet happy ending because the CF sufferer is now with Christ, her name is Haley and she is 12. Today is her funeral. Attendants are asked to wear pink as it is Haley's favourite color. If you read this today, check out her blog and wear some form of pink:)

http://www.caringbridge.org/cb/viewHome.do

Just a Quick Note...

Thanks Alice, I saw some new stuff added to your blog and really liked it:)

Counting Down to VBS

We have 6 days until VBS starts (including today). Jeremy and I get to teach together this year for the first time. Before we each taught seperatley with another couple, Jon and Aimee. I told my pastor, Bro. Joe and Jon that if this didn't work out so well, I reserve the right to take Aimee back next year! (I love you Jeremy). Aimee was great. She was so helpful and made me feel comfortable and really helped me to grow in teaching, not just VBS but all teaching.
So, this year our theme is the Lord's Army and our lessons are based on the Armor of God. Our church tried something new this year. A committee of 4 came up with everything for our VBS. From our theme to our snacks. The purpose was to make it less expensive for the teachers (they took up offerings) and not as time consuming. They have done a great job, thanks Lisa, Bill, Krystal and Jeremy:)
I love VBS. Just to see one kid smile when they are learning about Christ makes all the runing around and tiredness sooo worth it. My prayer this year as every year, is for at least one person to come to know Christ through what they have learned at VBS. But, even if that doesn't happen, it's okay because we will have all planted a seed that will one day hopefully grow into salvation.
So..please pray for the teachers, that will be studied up and prepared and will have fun. Pray for our pastor, Bro. Joe and deacon John (my FIL). They have the tough job of making the kids laugh and get interested in what they are about to learna nd what they have learned. This can be a tough job I'm sure but for the 4 years I have participated, they made it seem effortless. They are always dressing up in goofy outfits and just being plain silly ( I will post pics after all is said and done).
Please pray that God will fill our classes with children of all ages, young adults and adults too. And please pray that anyone attending that does not have salvation thorugh Christ might find Him through what they learn.

I doubt I will post until VBS is over. But the first post I make will be about it and with pics.

The New Baby

Well I got to see the new baby today. He (or she) was stretched out in my belly. I could see a bottom and a spine and head and an arm waved too. It was great. I am 14 weeks and 4 days and am due on Dec. 3rd, but who knows exactly when the baby will arrive.
I am having my thyroid checked, but other than that everything seems wonderful.

James is really keeping me busy these days being mobile and all. He ate a piece of dog food the other day! He has learned "no" real quick and now when he goes towards the dog food, I say "James, no", and he detours. He will stay in his playpen for about 15-20 minutes 2 or 3 times a day which he likes and so do I. He has new schedule that seems to start his day (and mine) at 5 am. I am not sure what he is thinking! I am guessing he is hungry but I can't really feed him anymore than I do at a time and I already put a bit of rice in his bottle with a bit extra before bed. He sleeps from 7 pm to 5am with a feeding at 11pm. I guess this is good really and I should be happy with it, but I was enjoying it when he slept until 6 am. I have tried keeping him up until 8pm but he is not having it. So, needless to say with early rising and chasing after the kids all day and carrying another one...I'm tired today.

Kolton finished school today. Next year he is in 4th grade!!! I can't believe it. He had a great year with excellent grades and he seemed to have fun with it too. Next year he starts a program for kids who are imaginative and bright. He already has friends who are in the program which is great, and he is really looking forward to it. It will not interfere with his day to day class activities so it's not putting anymore on him than normal which is good because we were concerned with that. I want him to continue to enjoy himself which will help him to continue to be so successful.

I will post soon with a picture update and the new video I shot of James "crawling".

Pictures

I have not added any new pics recently, so I thought I would do so now. They are just random but here you go.....

I am not sure exactly what the problem was here but it was making them both a little on the mad side I would say. I do remember that taking that picture of Jacob while he was mad made the situation worse, can you tell?

So, here is James playing with Daddy's toes.....

And my foot...he is alomost 7 months now, I can't believe it.

Here is a video of James "crawling". He can really move when he wants to. It looks a bit dark, I will have to post another one soon.

And after a long, hard day, James is ready for bed.................

I go to the doc tomorrow so I will post about that asap. I am also going to be taking some new pics (more of all the kids) and will post them too.

Me and the baby

This post was requested by a friend and I actually have sometime today so....
I feel pretty good. My "morning" sickness is not as bad as with the other 3 pregnancies. It has picked up a bit this week though. I am very tired all the time. Having the 2 pregnancies so close together has caused me to become anemic due to iron deficiency. This just means for now that I need to take extra iron with my prenatals.
I go June 4th to the doc and will know more. I have me due on November 30th, 1 day after Ryan's 6th birthday (this would make me 13 weeks). I am hoping that the baby will wait a day or 2 or come a week or so early. None of my babies were born on their due date, but you never know....Ryan would be elated if the new baby was born on his birthday. he already plans on sharing a party with James (Ryan is Nov. 29th, James Nov. 13th). I am fine with this if that is what he wants. Infact I think it's sweet.
Other than that no other news about the baby and me. I promise to update next week after my doc appointment. I am guessing, depending on appointments, I will know the gender of the baby in about 5-8 weeks! Can't wait for that!
Alice, I look forward to when we can not only read about our lives but talk face to face too:)

Milestones

James is on the move!!!
So he is not actually crawling (not the crawling you picture when someone says "crawling"). But he can move via "army" crawl. All my boys did this for a long time before they actually crawled. He has been doing this now for a few days but just a foot or two to grab the remote (insentive). Today he has made it all the way down the hall to his brothers room and is in there right now playing. So now starts the big bad "no" word because I am not one to move my belongings around to keep him from touching them. And I will have to go through all the smaller toys and put them up so he can't get a hold of them.
James is also sitting up very well on his own except sometimes he gets lazy and will lean all the way forward. He is growing so fast and he is just too precious. When his eyes meet yours you get a huge smile. He wakes up talking to himself saying "da-da-da". He is such a happy baby and I am so happy God gave him to us.

What's New...

Nothing really, James cut his first tooth and is working on 2 more it seems. I have my first doc appointment June 4th. I am anxious about this, I have several things I need to ask him and I know I will feel better once I have some answers.
Life has been busy with the same old stuff, plus at church we are trying to get ready for VBS and Homecoming. A church committee is planning our VBS this year for the first time and it seems to be going well. I think everyone is excited ( I know I am).
Our weather seems to have calmed down which makes me happy, now I just need to prepare for the icky sticky hot summer, and being pregnant during it:( I really despise the heat, I am a winter girl for sure.
Jacob did get accepted into the preschool program and he will be going to school with Kolton and Ryan in August. He is very excited although I am preparing him that he will be in a class without his brothers, this part he is not too sure about.
Jeremy's dad John has to have another surgery soon. His arm is infected. For those who don't know, he fell out of a tree while doing his job 4 years ago. He is still having troubles with his one arm and has been through countless surgeries in the past 4 years. If you know him, you know how hard this is for him. We heard him preach this past Sunday and it seems that maybe he has come to terms with his physical state. I think he is trying to look at it as a way to help others through similar situations and other hard times.
We are looking forward to this long weekend. Monday we will be spending it with John and Hazel, we have done this now for the past 4 years. We will also be going out for a family dinner for Jeremy's birthday (the big 30). And Friday we will be celebrating our nephew's birthday with the family. This will be great because our kids and my SIL's kids love each other and just love to play together.
So, there is the update on what is happening in our family. for anyone who has checked out the link to Confessions of a CF Husband, if you don't already know, Gwyneth is home! If you haven't checked it out, please do. It is a precious testimony to God's love and blessings.
So in closing, please pray for the following.....
John's surgery/recovery
VBS
Homecoming of Holly Springs
My doc appointment
The 2 boys starting school for the first time

I will try to post more as things happen but the next 6 weeks are going to be BUSY......

Poor baby James...and a Few Other Things

My little man has gone from the happiest, easiest baby I have ever known, to a very sad baby:(

Since Monday morning he is crying a majority of the time. He will eat his baby food, but has a hard time eating a full bottle. I am thinking he is cutting a tooth. This was hard on Ryan too, but not Jacob. It is so true that every baby is different!

He does fine if he can sit with me of Jeremy, or the kids come over and talk to him and "play" with him. You can tell he loves his brothers, they make him so happy and it is very sweet. I am so thankful that the kids love each other so much and each of them was happy every time they found out they were getting a new baby. Back to James, anyone reading this, please pray for him and that he would be comforted and the will pass quickly.





On another note, more storms in the forecast. Please continue to pray for those that have lost so much, including loved ones. I believe 27 or 28 people have lost their lives just this year from storms. http://www.todaysthv.com/default.aspxFor some reason, this is heavy on my heart and mind.

And, for those of you who don't know, I am not from Arkansas, I was born and raised in Toronto. A lot different from each other. So maybe this is why I feel so bad for these people because it is just so strange for lack of a much better word, that a storm could do this. It scares me bad, even when I lived in TO I was scared of tornadoes and storms (we didn't even have the tornadoes!). In the past year I have felt sheer panic in my heart with these storms while they were happening. It's funny afterwards to me, how scared I was, but while it's happening, I am petrified. Now, the kids do not ever see me upset, that is the one thing that helps me keep my cool. But they will see me get out their shoes and line them up in order of size/child. This makes me feel better and they ask why and I say just in case we want to go outside and they don't ever know specifically why. I have a feeling Kolton might, but he never seems scared or asks questions. We have talked to him about it and he has practiced drills at school, and he seems okay. The kids will hopefully end up like Jeremy and not let it bother them because the will have grown up with it.
Well that was therapeutic in a rambling sort of way. It actually makes me feel better, thank you for putting up with it.

My Mom

My mom is kind and generous and very giving of herself, almost to a fault if that is possible. I have a great phone plan so we are able to talk whenever we want for a monthly flat rate. This is a good thing not only for us but for Ryan. He loves to talk to his granny several times a week, and she loves to hear every detail of every story he has.
My mom got to share in the birth of Ryan (as did my mother in law and sister in law) which was great for me being my first delivery. Financially it is hard to see each other, but I am thankful for the times we have had, especially the time she has got to spend with her grandkids. As with my dad, that is what pains me the most of the distance between us, she doesn't get to see her grandbabies grow up close and personal.
Ryan is understanding and seems unaffected by it I suppose because he doesn't know any different. Kolton understands too and he also will talk to her on the phone when he wants to. Now I have to work on Jacob and well then I have 2 more to go....
I am glad my mom understands that if things were different and we lived in the same town, she might not have the blessings that are these boys.
We look forward to the possible visit we will get with granny in November when we meet our new baby in person.

Prayer Request

To anyone reading this that prays, please pray for the many many people that have had their lives uprooted by tornadoes here in Arkansas. April 3rd brought several tornado's. One ripped through the old mobile home park we used to live in. I actually got to see the damage recently and it was devastating.

Above is a pic of a tornado from today. As of right now, 7 people lost their lives including 2 young girls ages 15 and 4. So many people have lost their homes and belongings and today, loved ones.

I am aware this has and does happen in other places, along with many other natural disasters, but this home.

Please pray for these people and anyone else in the world who has or is suffering from such a loss.

The pic is from http://www.todaysthv.com/

Pre School

It looks as though Jacob will be starting preschool on August. The school Kolton attends and Ryan will be starting has decided to start a preschool program. They only need 3 more children registered to have the class. I am so happy and excited for him but I am very scared and worried too.
I think it'll be good for him and his speech. Being around other kids will not do anything but help the speech as far as I am concerned and his therapist agrees. Now, we just need to get his behaviour under control! Last night he slapped Ryan right in the face! The problem is that when he started going to work with his daddy from time to time, he got into horse play, like the big boys do to pass time sometimes and it has made it's way into our home and well pretty much everywhere. Last night when we went to church, we got out of the van and there were some kids playing around and Jacob walked up to one of them (Chris whom I just love, he's a great kid) and hit him! Now, I am not making excuses for him, because I really do not like it, but he honestly thinks it's funny. He's not trying to be mean, he's trying to play like he has seen Jeremy and his fellow co workers do from time to time.
So, now we have 3.5 months to get this under control, we have been trying, but now we really have to focus on it and get it to stop. Pray for Jacob and us as we try our best to do this :)

My Dad

My dad, with all bias aside, is truly a great man. He and my mom separated when I was 8, and I did only get to spend time with him here and there, not his fault but just the way things were due to many different reasons. Eventually when I turned 21 I was able to spend loads of time with him and am so thankful for that. Not just that I got to spend that time with him but that I got to do it as an adult (in making). It was during this time I realized how much I am like him in many ways. This is a good thing as far as I am concerned (most of the time!).
It is very hard being so far away from him, but I understand that this is life and the way it is, hopefully just for now. I do pray that one day my kids will be able to spend more time with him and see what a great Papaw they have. I know he would be such a positive influence in their lives.
I really can say I do not know anyone like my dad. He is so smart about so many things and is kind and generous and loving. To this day as a mother and wife and almost 30, I still look to my dad for advice. I WANT his opinion, I value and trust it.
I love you dad, and thank you for being who you are:)

The New Baby

Ahhhh...the new baby. A very unexpected surprise. This baby will be born within days of James' 1st birthday. Ryan will be in school, along with Kolton and I plan to have Jacob in a day care maybe for a couple days a week. This will lighten the load a bit during the days and Jeremy will be here in the evenings and he has always been a tremendous help with the boys.
Many people keep saying that maybe this one will be a girl. Some of me hopes so but the rest of me knows we'll need to change our living arraignments a few years down the road. Either way, I know with God's help, we'll make it work space wise. Really, space is my only concern (besides college down the road). We already have 4 kids, I figure one more will not change things that much but just give us one person to love :)
The boys are already excited which makes things so much easier on Jeremy and I. I love how much they all love each other and can not wait for things like Christmas 25 years from now when we have all 5 of our kids and possibly some daughter in laws and grandkids all running around. I am glad to know that these boys and their new sibling will always have each other, even when Jeremy and I are gone.
Strangely enough, I never wanted kids...LOL. I think God had different plans for me wouldn't you say?!? I could never imagine my life without anyone of them. They all complete my life. I miss them terribly when they go spend the night with mamaw and papaw (they will have their own post here soon), even though I know how much fun they have and how good John and Hazel are to them. Sometimes I think although Jeremy likes us to have a evening alone ( I do too), he'd rather have the kids here because all I do is worry about them when they are gone!
But, back to the new addition....I plan to post updates as soon as my doc appointments start. I have been blessed this time around so far with little to no nausea or sickness. I leave out "morning" because it was never one part of the day for me. This really helps since I have a 5 month old to care for. It's true I love to feel the baby grow and move around inside my belly, but ( and please forgive me if I offend) I really do not enjoy pregnancy. It is very hard on my body. I spend most of it sick with colds and viral infections and ear infections and aches and pains and headaches and I could go on but I wont. However, the end result is more than worth it:) I suppose that's good for now. This new baby will have several of his or her own post as he or she grows, stayed tuned for this.

Now that I have posted about the men in my life, here is pic of the 5 little men.

James

James will be 6 months old on May 13th. He is a wonderful happy baby...now. The poor thing spent the first month and a half of his life with untreated acid reflux. He cried all the time and never wante to lay down, spit up A LOT, acted hungry but didn't eat without crying. When we called his PCP they said to try a certain formula for colic. This didn't work and actually made it worse. I decided something was wrong with him. I knew his cry was a pain cry, not just from colic. When we took him into his doc, she was on leave for awhile and we got her fill in. We will NEVER see her again. She treated me like an over tired, over worked mom of 3 kids and a new baby. She chalked it up to colic and me over worrying and acted like I didn't know what I was talking about. But, I just new something was wrong. After 2 weeks with Christmas in the middle of it, i took him back to see his regular PCP. I told her his symptoms, and that I believed he had acid reflux. Praise God she listened! James was put on 2 different meds and has been like a completley different baby. This just goes to show you, if you think something is wrong with your kid, your most likely right and keep persisting until someone takes you seriously.

At 5.5 months James rolls both ways and rolls all over the living room and kitchen. He can walk in his walker forwards and backwards. He laughs and always smiles at everyone. He loves mashed potatoes, and all kinds of baby food. He is very long for his age, wearing 9-12 month clothing. He is a terrific sleeper, goes to bed on his own and rarely cries. We put him down at around 8, feed him at 11 and I don't see him again until 6-7 in the morning.
The sitting up on his own is a work in progress, he'll do it for a few seconds then laughs and falls over to the side. He will reach for Jeremy and practically fall out of my arms to get to him. He also does the same for John, Jeremy's dad. James is very much a daddy's boy. It is very sweet.
We changed a lot of our baby parenting with James and it seems to have helped him to flourish already and not be so "clingy" to his mommy:)
I am looking forward to the next 6 months and all the changes he will go through. I will absolutly be posting on those changes as they come.

Jacob

Jacob is 3. He is pretty. I know he is a boy but that is the best word to describe what he looks like...pretty. He is also smart and very funny. Like Kolton, when he laughs a real laugh it is such a belly laugh and it makes you want to giggle too (Ryan just screams). He likes to play fight too much and can be mean sometimes to his brothers...Ryan calls him a bully! I do see future principal office visits in his future, but it's a part of him and I love all of him very much. I am just hoping with some guidance (a nicer word for discipline in this case) he'll grow out of it:)
Jacob never really baby talked all that much and when he was 18 months old and could only say "dada" yet understood everything we were saying, I decided it was time to do something about it. My PCP told me to wait until he was 2 but I am so glad I didn't because that would have been another 6 months without speech therapy, and instead of being delayed about 6months to 1 year now, he would be worse off. Jacob is now at a point where people outside our family can pretty much understand most of what he says. There are times (rare ones) that I do not understand what he is saying. In these cases I tell him to slow down and try again. This usually helps.
I am praying that by the time he starts school in about 18 months that he will be completely understandable. His speech therapist did say to expect some learning disabilities in reading and writing.
I am almost sure Jacob has OCD like his mommy. It shows itself in several funny ways with the classic being that I have to make sure his nap time blanket is perfect when he is going to take a nap. It has to be straight on all sides, no creases, no folds or he gets upset. It doesn't matter what the blanket looks like if he is just laying around with it, only when he is taking a nap. I am also a bit worried that this will affect him when it comes time to go to school as far as his current routine goes.
Right now, he is trying to write his name and has learned to count to 10 and we are practicing ABC's. Like I said he is delayed, but we are working on things and he has come so far, he keeps learning more and more and I am very proud of him.

Okay, I have decided after reading my posts, I need to use the spell check that's here. No more missing letters. Stayed tuned for the James post.

Ryan

My first born Ryan is a character. He can be so sweet and loving, but boy can he argue! He needs to be a lawyer when he grows up. He always has to have the last word, or tries to anyway. He is also very smart like his big brother.
In a few months, Ryan will be starting kindergarten. We went to an orientation and they 2 kind. teachers took the kids to their classes to do some stuff while the parents listened and talked to other teachers. There were other kids crying about going and some kids didn't even go. But, there was my Ryan, proud to go with the teacher. He was such a big little man. He had a great time with his teachers. He is ready, I on the other hand am not! I know he will be just fine but it's going to take me a minute to get my heart to understand that.
Ryan is also a handsome guy and funny and loves his baby brother to pieces. He is also very excited about the new baby that is on his or her way. Everyday he tells my belly "I love you baby". How cute is that?!? When he was asked by one of his teachers at church if he wanted a sister or another brother, he said to her "it's in God's hands". Talk about melt you heart. For 5 he is very understadning about God and Jesus and recently accepted Christ as Lord and Savior. I wouldn't be surprised if he does this again later in life and gets it (if he didn't actually get it this time), but that's okay as long as he gets it right if he hasn't already, but only God knows for sure. I don't take full credit for this. He has wonderful grandparents and teachers at church who have helped him to learn about Christ. I thank God for these people because they are helping us to mold our children (Kolton is also saved, I forgot to mention in his post).
I know God holds wonderful things for Ryan too. I can't wait to see him play with his own children one day.
He is a round little guy, and has a completely different body type than his dad and brothers. Sorry Ryan, you got mommies genes! But he is still too cute and I am sure he will grow out of his round little belly :)
Ryan is also a talker. Talk talk talk, I believe sometimes he just wants to hear himself talk! He loves to talk on the phone with his granny (my mom). He'll talk her ear off about 3 times a week for an hour sometimes, but granny eats it up! He talks so much I am worried he will get into trouble when he starts school. Already, he gets himself into trouble because he doesn't know when to just stop. When it's happening, it's frustrating but when you sit back and think about it, it's rather funny.
On another topic, for those of you reading this blog...help! Can you suggest baby boy names that do not start with "J". We are having a hard time coming up with a name. We have settled on Edward as a middle name. If you have any ideas please leave post them here, thanks :)

Kolton

If you have not read my other posts, scroll down, this will explain this post and some nore to come.

Kolton is my 9 year old step son. I really detest calling him that because I look at him as though he is my son, although I do have respect for the fact that I am not his mom and actually, his mom is a close friend of mine whom I love dearly.
I have been in his life since he was 18 months old, and am ashamed to say the first 1.5 years or so, I was not the person he needed me to be. I do not believe he remembers that but I do and it hurts me to this day.
Kolton is next to genius. He is so smart about all kinds of things and he has been accepted into a alpha program in school starting next year for creative and intelligent children. We are very proud of him and his accomlishments and he's only 9!
Kolton is a great big brother to our other boys (although siblings will be siblings). He is so loving and caring to everyone. He can be quite a lot of the times, but when you get him to laugh, his real laugh, it comes straight from his belly and it's infectious! He is the next best thing since french fries as far as his younger brothers are concerned (they don't like bread).
He is respectful and kind and handsome. I can't wait to see the great things ahead for him. I can't wait to watch him grow into a man and eventually a husband and father, he is going to be a great dad I think.
I know it is tough sometimes for him being the older brother (his next oldest brother is 4 years younger). But he does a good job and I just keep reminding him of all the things he'll get to do first in life because he is the oldest.
As with our other kids, I pray we do right by him and help him grow into the man God wants him to be.
Come back soon for more posts dedicated to the rest of my growing family.