going for walks

has anyone asked how you connect with God? for me, it is through nature. when i'm having a rough time with the kids, the best thing for me (and them!) is to get outside even if it is for only about twenty minutes. i need to be able to breathe the air that has the plants and animals He's created mingled in there with it.

this past weekend, the hubby and i both agreed that we needed to go for a walk with the kids. we went to a nature park near our house and i took a bunch of pictures. most of them are not.so.hot. after three years, i've been trying out the settings on my camera and it's kind of crazy that i don't get it. at all. these photos aren't horrible- but i have no idea what i'm doing. anyway, here is a pleasant photograph of a small lake with some ducks flying overhead. i took a lot of pictures of the ducks flying in "v" formation and it was super cool. the ducks are often WAY too small to see in the photographs from this weekend, but it was cool in real life.

after we walked around the lake, the kids needed to use some facilities and so we headed to the library nearby and then walked around our favorite neighborhood. so refreshing! i can't wait to walk with the new baby.

God's hand is found in the Bible, the following are some examples that stand out to me:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.

"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD's renown, for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed."
{Isaiah 55:8-13}

By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
{Psalm 33: 6-9}

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.
{Psalm 19: 1-6}


Whenever I read Psalm 19, it reminds me of my favorite songs from growing up in church:

Canticle Of The Sun
Refrain:
The heavens are telling the glory of god, and all creation is shouting for
joy, come, dance in the forest, come play in the field and sing, sing to the glory of the Lord

Sing to the sun, the bringer of day, he carries the light of the Lord in his rays, the moon and the stars, who light up the way unto your throne.
Refrain
Praise to the wind, that blows through the trees, the seas mighty storms, the gentlest breeze, they blow where they will, they blow where they please, to please the Lord.
Refrain
Praise to the rain that waters our fields, and blesses our crops, so all the earth yields, from death unto life her myst'ry concealed, springs forth in joy.
Refrain
Praise to the fire, who gives us his light, the warmth of the sun to brighten our night, he dances with joy, his spirit so bright, he sings of You.
Refrain
Sing to the earth, who makes life to grow, the creatures You made to let Your life show, the flowers and trees that help us to know the Heart of Love.
Refrain
Praise to our death, that makes our life real, the knowledge of loss that helps us to feel, the Gift of Yourself, Your Presence revealed to bring us home.
Refrain

Hopefully you feel refreshed!

november 24th

baby bump at 38 weeks

well, the baby should not be in the belly any later than november 24th. it has been a slow and fast pregnancy, which can be confusing. it was slow until september and then it turned into today. today is 13 days before my due date. #1 was born 14 days early and #2 was born 13 days early. preclampsia being the reason. tomorrow will be the longest a baby has been in my belly. whoa.

this time? zero symptoms.

the not-so-fun challenge this time is this thing: h1n1. if i have it when the baby is born i have to wait till i have no fever for 24 hours before i can see him/her. no nursing, no contact. seriously. what?!

the husband can't be a part of the delivery if he comes in contact within 7 days with someone who has the swine flu. seriously? what?

i get three visitors who are the same the whole stay. c-section people have to be there 2 days. i've usually stayed 3. i might not this time because seriously- thanksgiving at a hospital? not so sure how thankful i'll be. though- i will be thankful if the nurses are still super awesome like they've been in the past. with #2 we got a lot of needed assistance. especially for being second time parents. who knew that each kid would be SO different? seriously. no joke.

to avoid any issues with who can come to the hospital, my parents are being awesome and watching 1 and 2 basically from this sunday until friday the 27th at their house. i'm so thankful especially since the kids are under the restricted age of 16 for who can come and be a part of the 3 hospital visitors. husband's parents will be able to come by when it works for them. can you believe that my kids are going to leave one day with a baby in my belly and then when they get back it will be out of my belly. seriously. what?!

hope they don't freak out.

i think that i might. three kids. three and under. WHAT were we thinking? :)

just kidding- i'm so excited at this point we'll just make it all work out. i love my bean in my belly and am anxious to meet him/her.

pray for the safety and health of this baby. it's been a boring pregnancy (thank you Jesus!) but i've been the most anxious this time around. the bad stories prepare you for the worst, but they do not give me a peace of mind.

#2's new room's look

you might remember the wall decor from our old place and how it was in #1's bedroom. he loved it, and i felt so bad that #2 is in the most boring room possible since we do not trust him to not play with toys/read books. i love the balloons and i'm glad that i didn't use them all in #1's room since they aren't really reusable.


here's the most filled area in the room furniture-wise. two little red chairs with a table between. we do story time before bedtime here several times a week. it is cute (note the sheet... the boys had pulled it off #1's bed and were playing tug-o-war with it!)
a better closeup of the bed. the comforter is from my college bed, which my parents kept in great condition over the past couple years. worked out great to not have to buy one *thanks m&d!* love me my parents. and! we removed the railing- since the husband pointed out that #2 will probably not hurt anything falling/rolling out of bed. we haven't heard any cries- so i think that he was right. ha. :)

anyway- #2 loves his room. we've put him in the bed for the past two days and he's not doing so hot with naps yet, but he'll get there. we might do a pack n' play for a couple weeks so he can look around the room and get used to it during the day. not sure. we'll see!

ps- upon recommendation, we have purchased a doorknob thing that makes it more difficult to escape a room. it's working so far, so i can rest without being worried that a lil' handsome is going to be gallivanting around the house (and this kid would be eating me out of the house! ha!)

kid #2

don't think that i've forgotten about my other little dude. he is growing up really fast, too. as a testament to that statement, here's a little tidbit of information that we were surprised to find out yesterday morning (with a repeat today). lately, the husband and i have been waking up earlier to get stuff done without our beautiful kids running around under our feet. his intention is more of a "get to work early so i can get home on time" and mine is "quiet time with Jesus", and/or "check stuff out on the computer"

as i was looking at my Email yesterday, this handsome (seen above) ran into our room and basically fell over to avoid running smack into a wall- to which he said "uh, oh!" i gave my husband a look like "what just happened here?" and "did i miss it and you went to go get him?" anyway- apparently #2 is getting efficient at opening doors.

last night, in order to protect our kid from falling down the stairs† we put up a gate and this morning i heard it crash down as the kid walked out of his room. our gates are not 100% awesome, as you can tell, reader, but it served it's purpose! i knew he was out and about. i leave my hearing aids out of my ears some mornings to let them *breathe* sort of silly, but i truly relish the fact that i'm in my own world sometimes!

tonight we'll have to put the gate up a wee bit better than last night, though. and maybe sneak in a couple toys to tide him over till it is time to *get up!*

† the kid fell down the stairs last night. what.in.the.world. eugh. 2 for 2 now (kid #1 and #2, that is!)

today…

he's really three! here are some pictures throughout the weekend and today in which we celebrated our handsome boy!

saturday, had some people over to celebrate the handsome and here's the cake that i said i would be making (delicious! but RICH! we had 24 people over and the cake says 12-15 servings. we had leftovers... crazy!)
wearing a shirt that says "i am 3! roar!" so cute. he was so excited right here. i think that the cake might have just been removed from his site and he's so proud of blowing out the candles. love him


we made a breakfast just for him so he could blow out candles. :)

went for a walk with friends!

Got to play with chalk while waiting for dad to come home from work


riding a bike! wearing a sweet hat my friend, b, made. (i took a lot of pics today, b, so i'll email you a couple of the hats that look real great for you to use!)


#1- we love you so much. we're so glad that the Lord has blessed us with three years of your life. we are so excited to see and experience you growing up.

chuckle

one of the funniest things i've heard #1 say to #2 occurred this weekend after his birthday celebration. we're eating dinner, and the boys have a small bowl of blueberries. #2 is squeezing them a bit before putting them in his mouth... and #1 says:

"you squeeze it, big boy!"

the whole table erupted into laughter, and although #1 wasn't trying to be funny, he saw that he is quite a comedian and kept trying to say funny phrases for the rest of the weekend to get us all laughing again.

#1 is such a blessing in our lives. thank you, God, for him!

three!

this weekend my oldest is turning three. i just can't.believe.it.at.all. seriously- i remember him as a peanut in my arms. or as my sister says when he was "scrunchy" (5lbs 9oz is kind of a small baby)

anyway... i asked him what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday and he said chocolate. i am not a fan of chocolate, so i'm going to make it jazzy so i can enjoy making the cake. the cake i've chosen to make is from this blog via this blog. doesn't it look delicious? i hope mine turns out just as grand looking and that #1 enjoys it. we've been counting down to his birthday for 14 days (total) and tomorrow we're having a birthday part which has a special star on the date to get him excited. personally- i really hope he's successful at blowing out the candles because he's been practicing his blowing *forever*! so cute.

"three candles, cake, ice cream, mom. i get to blow out the candles." (a.k.a. - don't worry if you're coming and you don't have a present. he doesn't care- he just wants to blow out the candles and eat unhealthy food)

gah! i'm going to have a three year old in the house!