One Year Ago.....

I couldn't imagine my life as it is today. One year ago today we found our last bed bug - dead! One year ago today I couldn't imagine loving another sweet boy let alone adding one to our family. One year ago today I was still in tears and stressed about the condition of our house.

But SO MUCH has changed in just one year!

First - the bed bugs are gone. Technically we still have 6 months before we can officially declare them GONE as they can live 18 months without a feeding - but we are trusting God for an answered prayer - which I will talk about in the next paragraph. We still look for them and check every fuzzy we find on the floor - but we haven't seen one in a year. PRAISE GOD! I honestly didn't believe we would ever be rid of them and thought we would have to endure life with them forever - but God is faithful even to those without strong faith. I learned a great deal about myself and my God and am more in love with Him this year than last. He is strong and can handle my tears, anger and frustration and still love me with a fierce love that can get me through the toughest trials! I also learned that less is more. I don't need a lot of stuff cluttering up my life. I am still de-cluttering our house but it is in far better condition than it was when the whole bed bug thing started in October of 2008!

Second - we have a new son! He is perfect (well in MY eyes!) and adorable and so sweet I just want to eat him up! Last spring I remember praying that if God would allow it to bless us with another child. But I put a condition on that child - that He wouldn't allow us to get pregnant until the bed bugs were gone. I knew (and so did He!) that I could not handle the stress of bed bugs and pregnancy at the same time! When I took the home pregnancy test on May 29th - I knew the bed bugs were gone. God is faithful and loving and I viewed that pregnancy as a sort of promise that the bed bugs were gone. The pregnancy had a lot of ups and downs - and was my most stressful pregnancy right up to the end - but God is so good to me and brought us all through it safely and having learned much! We are all in love with Drew and view him as a miraculous gift from God!

Third - I never thought our house would look THIS GOOD! It is completely different! Andy did an amazing job and I continue to love the house I live in (though I sometime wish it were in a different area!). I know I haven't posted many pictures of it all new and what not. Right now it is a disaster area with just getting back from vacation and getting the clothes all switched over. Since school is done I will have time to totally clean it from top to bottom and then I will post the before and after shots - you will be amazed! So the biggest blessing from the bed bugs is a new house from the inside out!

It is fun (now) to look back on last year and see how God has carried me through some of the toughest trials I have faced in my life. I am glad my friend encouraged me to start a blog so that I have a chronicle of exactly how I felt during those times and can look back and see God's faithfulness. I know I will face other trials - but I can also look back and see God's faithfulness and KNOW without a doubt He will continue to be faithful. Thank you, Father, for your deep love for me!

LIFE!!!

I have been falling behind on my blog posting. Life is a bit crazy with trying to wrap school up for the year and get portfolios together. Plus taking care of this cutie takes up a lot of time!I am also really trying to keep up on all the housework - namely laundry! I can't believe how much laundry we produce! But the wonderful thing is that I now have a a washer and dryer UPSTAIRS!!!! See ~ Isn't it great! I am SO thankful that I don't have to trudge down to the basement and lug everything back upstairs! Thank you, Andy! Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that I could have a laundry room upstairs! But Andy made it possible when he had to gut the entire hallway in February 2009 due to the wicked bed bugs. So something GOOD did come from that dreadful situation!Drew is now 3 months old! Goodness! Time is just flying but we are so enjoying him! He has the greatest smiles! He cries far less now a days and is getting into quite a routine. He sleeps through the night and is ready for bed at 6:30 pm! I still wake him at 11:00 pm to feed him one last time, but he then sleeps until 7-7:30 am! He is a dream! Sarah and Daniel still fight over who can hold him and love to talk with him and play with him. We all love seeing who can get the biggest smile out of him! Daniel is doing well and is constantly begging to do school! I think I have discovered the secret to having kids like school - don't do it with them! Daniel begs to do math and reading. He would do a workbook everyday if I let him! But trying to deal with Matt and Sarah sometimes leaves little time with my preschooler. However, he knows all his letters and numbers and can count up through 20. He is also writing his name (with a little help with the N)! He is drawing really cute pictures of us and we love the explanations behind each one! His current passion is Lego's! He is constantly building something with the many that he finds around the house!

I am planning on doing the preschool program I was suppose to do with him this past year, this summer. I have decided to school year round. As you may have guessed this is an EXTREMELY popular decision with the older two! I don't believe Daniel will fuss at all and Drew will never know the difference! I think it will be easier in the long run and I can then break some of the subjects down into "semesters". I often find it difficult to fit both science and history in together. It will also give us a little wiggle room throughout the year so if I feel I (or the kids) needs a day off we can do so without the pressure of finishing on time! So pray for me and the kids - that we would be able to do the work and really learn. Pray especially for Matt as he is really struggling with motivation and making the school work his own. I have stopped nagging him this week and in the past two days he has only gotten spelling done. Andy and I are frustrated. But the nagging was just causing strife between us and wasn't really working. Until Matt decides to do the work, it won't get done. He's always been that way - he has to decide things and when he does things happen. It is a waiting game at this point. If he doesn't finish his work by June 1st he may be repeating 7th grade. So pray for him and us!

Sarah is almost finished her 5th grade year. All her course work will be done this week! It wasn't our best school year as I feel I wasn't really the teacher I wanted, or needed, to be. I already have plans in the works for changing next year. I really need to focus on spelling and math with her. One reason we are doing school year round is because she tends to lose a lot of information even over a short period of time. She needs constant repetition to remember all that she has been taught. She is excited for the summer as we just registered her to go to Camp Sankanac! I grew up at that camp and I am so glad she loves going there! She really wanted to go for two weeks, but our summer is looking really busy, so we told her next year she can go for two weeks.

Thanks for all your prayers. Next week we head to Williamsburg, VA! It is our final field trip of the year! So be looking out for some fun posts of our time there! Also pray for our travels as this is Drew's first LONG trip and I have no idea how it will go! Thanks!

I'm 12 Weeks Old and I'm SOOOO Happy!

Here are a few of the cute photos I took of our 12 week old boy! He has changed so much! Here is a photo from the first day of his life:This is today! It is amazing how much changes in just 12 weeks! I thank God for him daily!


Well, I'm happy MOST of the time!

The Thumb Wins!

Yes, I am afraid we have a thumb sucker! I really tried to get him to like the beebee (that's what Daniel named the pacifier), but Drew has decided he prefers the thumb. This is how I find him in his bed anymore!!!He continues to sleep through the night and even "overslept" this morning! He didn't wake up until 8:00 am! He went more than 9 hours without eating! I am used to him waking between 6 and 7 am. I guess I will have to start setting the alarm clock again!

He was really alert in church this morning and everyone was commenting on his "Hershey Kiss" eyes! They are looking rather chocolaty and BEAUTIFUL! I love his eyes! They are so expressive and so gorgeous to look at! I never thought I would have a dark eyed boy. Matt has light hazel eyes, Sarah has green/blue eyes and Daniel has blue. I just assumed he would follow everyone else - but he got brown - and they did I mention that they were beautiful?!?! Now if he would have only been a redhead! He would have had the perfect combination! I guess those German traits beat out my Irish ones - oh well!

We only have three more weeks of class work and then we are taking a week of vacation and finishing school in Williamsburg, VA! We have been studying American History this year and have really been looking into Colonial times. We went last October, but I was pregnant and sick and it rained the entire time we were there. It was a nice trip - but I am hoping this one is much better! It will be fun to have Drew with us in body instead of inside my body! He does well in a carrier, so he will do just fine! Please pray for the kids as they finish up their school work. Please pray for me as I work on their portfolios. This has been a crazy year and I have not kept up on some things like I should have. I really need to pull things together!

Isn't he just wonderful? He really is a tremendous gift from God!

11 Weeks!

All day today I had Drew one week older than he really is - I kept thinking he was 12 weeks old - but he is only 11! I am not trying to rush things - just brain dead!!! I don't think my brain will ever really recover from this pregnancy - too much shrinkage went on I think! Anyway, my sweet boy is 11 weeks old today and he is a real pleasure 90% of the time! He is really starting to settle into babyhood. He doesn't cry as much as he used to - though still has bouts of hysteria for seemingly no reason at all (like tonight at a birthday party!). He is REALLY smiling at all of his siblings and Andy and I. Matt is most impressed with this and feels that Drew likes him the best - it could be! Drew is also making all sorts of cute cooing sounds! It really sound like he is having an entire conversation with you! He looks at you and "talks" and "talks" and "talks"! Why should he be different than the first three - they are all talkers! Andy and I find this hysterical since we are really not talkers - we much prefer a quiet and peaceful setting - not our kids! They can't stand silence and fill every void with speech! I have a feeling Drew is going to follow in their footsteps!

The best thing about Drew right now though is that he is sleeping 8+ hours at night!!!! I lay him down between 7:00 and 8:00 pm, feed him around 10:30 pm and then he's good until about 6:30 pm! YAY!!! Now if I could only force myself to go to bed at the same time I'd be set! I think one reason is starting to sleep longer at night is the fact that he found his thumb! We really tried to get him to like a pacifier - but I believe he is opting for the thumb. Matt and Sarah both sucked their thumbs. Daniel took a pacifier. It was much easier to break Daniel of his bad habit than it was the older two. Oh well! It looks cute while they are little!I started back at the gym last Saturday and it felt so good! I am so glad to be back exercising. My goal is to lose the last 16 pregnancy pounds by September and then continue on the weight loss journey I started before I got pregnant. I really need to lose the weight - I just want to be done with the diabetes and high triglycerides. I'd like to live long enough to see Drew have a family - if I'm going to do that I need to be healthy now!

Easter Weekend (a little late!)

We had an extremely busy weekend! It all started Friday with a visit to my dear friend and most kindred spirit, Donna. I hadn't seen her since August of last year! It was a visit that was LONG overdue! Plus she just had to meet Drew! I can't believe we only live about an hour from each other and yet it's so difficult to get together - but she has six kids and now I have four - it just gets a little interesting in the scheduling department! But we finally got our acts together and up we went to the suburbs! It was a beautiful day and Drew did amazingly well! It was just great to see her and talk to another adult! Our kids get along super well - maybe because they have all known each other since they were born! They all consider each other their best friend. Maybe our friendship has made them all comfortable with each other. It will be fun to see what the next few years bring as our oldest enter into teenage hood!Saturday we ventured up to the in-laws. Each year, if the weather is decent, we try to hold an Easter egg hunt for our kids. Andy's home church used to have a big one the Saturday before Easter, but no one wanted to take on the responsibility for it anymore and so it is no more! But we have enjoyed doing it for our kids. This year Jonathan, Andy's brother's grandson, joined us! It was good! We hid 140 plastic eggs with all sorts of junk in them (some even with coins!). we only lost 1! The kids had a blast and it was another gorgeous day! They were pretty dirty and worn out - always a sign of a good time!

Can you find the egg?

Sunday was Easter Day! We had to wake up a bit early and be at church early for the two services that our church held. The kids sang in both services and they all did a great job! They all looked great in their Easter attire thanks to MomMom!

After the services we headed up to my parents for another egg hunt put on by my mom and a ham dinner. It was nice and relaxing as it was just my sister and her son and Andy and our kids. Usually we have all kinds of family - aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews - but this year my mom kept it low key. It was great!

My four on the left and my nephew Sam! He should have been mine with the red hair!
Poor worn out baby!

10 weeks old!

Drew in his Palm Sunday finery! He's such a little man!

Yes, Drew was ten weeks old this past Monday! Unbelievable! I can't believe that much time has past already! Life is just flying by. I am trying to appreciate each moment - though some moments are easier to appreciate than others! Drew has taken to crying A LOT throughout the day unless he is in someones arms or outside! We are working on this, but it is a process! I am extremely thankful for this little guy and at each cry I remember that this is just a season. Before I know it he will be happy and talking and running around with the rest of the bunch! He is still sweet - and I do love holding and cuddling him! Here are several photos I took this week. He's such a cutie! Drew is getting big! Daniel can hardly hold him anymore! Though he still loves to do so!His hand caught his eye here! First time I noticed he discovered his hands!

He discovered the water as well! He just let his hand feel the water! It was funny to see him love the water so much!

This is my new favorite photo! He is smiling much more these days! When he's not wailing!Sarah was getting him to smile! He loves his siblings!