And Baby Makes 6!

I figured it was about time to post something new...and I could think of nothing better to post about than the fact that we are expecting another little blessing to enter our home (he/she is already in our hearts!) on or around Sept. 1! Yes, Ben and I were VERY surprised at this little curve ball God is throwing in our direction....but we have been thrown many curve balls by God and we never duck....we don't want to miss something good! Annalisa is super excited about this news, and she has been full of questions: "So, do you just like stand on a scale or something and it tells you that you are pregnant?" "Can the baby sleep in my room?" "What will I do if the baby keeps me up because she is crying and I have school the next day?" "How do babies get milk out of your boob anyway? Is that like a straw for them?" She is so curious about everything...but my favorite thing she said was not a question. It was right after we told them we would be having another baby. Annalisa just kept giggling and batting her eyes. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "Well, it's just that I thought I would never get to see a BABY that you had....but now I will!!!!" The boys are excited, but definitely not to the extent that Annalisa is! We went to the doctor on the 27th and saw the little peanut on the sono. Everything looks good so far! I don't see the doctor until March 23, but I have been asked to come back in the next 4 weeks to take the glucose test early (but I will still have to take it again at the normal time of 27-28 weeks) since I tend to have big babies! Neither me nor any of the kids have ever been diagnosed with diabetes, but I guess this is just a precaution they want to take. I will keep you updated on how that goes. We will be happy for any and all of you to pray for us as Ben tries to find a job, I try to overcome all day nausea, and we hope for a healthy and safe pregnancy.

Saying Goodbye

Yesterday morning we suffered a loss in our family, and we had to say good-bye. While Cole was eating breakfast his brother and sister were arguing as usual. Annalisa suddenly yelled at me that Cole was crying. I immediately thought that Jacob must have said something mean to him, but normally Cole just gets him right back, so I looked into the dining room to the tear-streaked face of my oldest child. I asked him what was wrong and he just hung his head while continuing to cry. I was pretty concerned at that moment, so I asked him again what was wrong. He then held up his head and said, "Rodriguez died last night." He left the table to go cry some more. I was puzzled, and went to him...."How do you know he died?" I asked. "Because he wouldn't move when I checked on him." Now there were LOTS more tears. We had been concerned about Rodriguez for about a week because he hadn't been acting like his normal self. We got him some crickets to eat even though it wasn't really his feeding time, and although he is normally super excited for crickets to be in his home, this time he didn't even move. He acted as if none were there, but the next morning he was getting up and moving around a lot more. Cole was even excited that he had turned back to his green color--sometimes he was brown depending on the humidity in the house. Ben and I hadn't felt like Rodriguez would make it much longer--even though we had read that White's Tree Frogs can live up to 15 years. Cole was going on having Rod for 4 years--alot for a 10 year old! My biggest fear was that Cole would find him dead, and I didn' t know how he would deal with that--I also didn't want him to HAVE to deal with that. What can I say? I am still his mom, and it is in my blood to want to shelter him from those kinds of things, but this time I missed it. When I went to check on Rod he was definitely dead. Annalisa started crying too about how she LOVED Rodgrievous (she never was able to say his name correctly), but Jacob was just matter-of-fact about the whole thing and very uncaring about Cole's feelings. He said things like, "Oh, gross! He looks so bad! Why do his eyes look like that? Why is his foot stuck like that? Where is all of his color?" and lots of other quetions that just upset Cole. Ben fashioned a box for us to bury Rodriguez in, and after we carefully wrapped him then put him in it we buried him in the backyard. Cole cried the whole time, but Annalisa had nice words to say for Rod. Today as we went to church Cole told me he was still sad, but after church he told me he had worked through his sadness. He said that now he thinks he can talk about it without crying. He may even want to replace Rodriguez at some point. I am so proud of him, but I am sorry that he has had to learn about loss at such a young age. He took very good care of Rodriguez while he was alive, and I told him that Rod had many adventures (moving to Colorado from Texas, moving while in Colorado, staying with Nanny for a week, etc) that other frogs only dream about!! He lived a full life!!

Eight

I have been tagged by my cousin Amanda to make lists of eight things (I am assuming I was supposed to use the same lists she used)......so here goes:

My 8 Favorite Restaurants:

1. Texas Roadhouse
2. Chick-Fil-A
3. Posados
4. Bodacious
5. Formosa Gardens
6. What-A-Burger
7. Taco Bueno
8. Marble Slab (that can be a restaurant!!)

8 Things That Happened Today:

1. I got out of bed (and that is HUGE considering how sick I was yesterday)
2. I wrapped a few Christmas presents
3. I ate a meal without throwing it up
4. I enjoyed getting some Christmas cards in the mail
5. Ben hugged me
6. Annalisa gave me a poem she wrote at school
7. The temperature was warmer than 39 degrees
8. I talked to Windy on the phone

8 Things I Look Forward To:

1. Summer Vacations
2. My anniversary
3. My kids' birthdays
4. Trips back to Texas
5. Visits from friends and family
6. Sledding with my kids
7. Friday night dates with Benny
8. Susan's baby being born

8 Things I Am Scared Of:

1. My dad's "mean" face
2. Roaches--those suckers can fly!!
3. Falling off the ladder while it is positioned on the stairs
4. Something happening to my kids or husband
5. Flying
6. Using a ruler--I hate measurements!!
7. My kids not knowing how much I love them
8. Missing important things in my kids' lives

8 Things I Wish For:

1. My kids to mind me!
2. Peace and quiet
3. A date with Ben
4. Ben's photography business to take off
5. My friends to not move away
6. Good friends for my kids
7. My kids to love and serve God
8. A Merry Christmas

8 Things I Watch on TV:

1. Psych
2. Heroes
3. Chuck
4. Pushing Daisies
5. The Soup
6. The Office
7. My Name is Earl
8. Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

So, now I tag.....Beth, Janette, Jamee, Meredith, and Michael....don't you just LOVE me????

Christmas Wish

There are some things that you just have to share with others, and I feel like this is one of them. Jacob is my stubborn, hard-headed, sneaky, intelligent, fun-loving middle-child. He is hard to get up in the mornings, happy to go to bed at 8:30, always ready to play a video game or read a comic book, and in love with Jesus! What more could you ask for in a child???? I have prayed for Jacob since I found out I was pregnant with him...then when the complications came I prayed harder and even more. When he was born 7 weeks early I prayed that God would grow him to be a strong young man that would KNOW how much He loves him. So far my prayers are being answered, but trust me I have NOT stopped praying for this boy! Today I got a letter from Jacob's teacher that just made me so proud of my son and so happy to know that God is allowing me to be his mother, his nurturer here on earth. This is what she wrote:

"This morning, our writing prompt was to write about a present that they really want to get and why. The majority of the kids wrote about getting a Wii or some other kind of toy. I just wanted you to know that Jacob read his and he said that for Christmas he really just wants everyone to get along and have fun together, because "Christmas is not about getting presents, it's about loving each other and celebrating Jesus' birthday." I thought that was SO sweet! He almost made me cry! It's obvious he is taught very good values at home - you should be proud! :o)"

Don't we all hope that our children will learn the true meaning of Christmas? Don't we pray that they will not be afraid to share that with others? I am so proud that Jacob not only believed it enough to write it, but was willing to read it in front of his class! I LOVE THAT BOY!!!!

Tag-You're It!

So, I have been tagged by my friend Janette! Apparently when you are tagged you are supposed to retrieve the 4th picture from the 4th album on your computer and post it. So, here it is:

Christmas Morning 2007

And now I tag Windy, Melissa, Amanda, Beth, Meredith, and Jamee! Can't wait to see your pictures!!