Our Newest Artist...

Well, Abi has for a long time professed to be our budding artist...claiming when she grew up she was going to be an artist AND a mother so she could draw pictures for her children!

But today, we meet another artist in the family. I was rather impressed with his renditions. I labeled the picture so you all can see the detail of his thinking! He even admitted that he wanted to draw Aunt Karla's house but the paper was too small so he just 'added it' anyway! I hope you enjoy our newest artistic impression of the farm:

Test Results

Well, the doctor's office called back today and I'm borderline! All my numbers were just barely indication of gestational diabetes...SO...they are going to put me on a diabetic diet and have me take my blood sugars three times a week. They will monitor it from there and see what happens. That is pretty much all I know at this point and time. Just wanted to let you all know what the results were. Thanks for all the prayers.

Update on Baby #4

Well, I got word today  that I my first glucose test was ‘slightly elevated’ and therefore they want me to do the 3 hour test. 

 

After talking to Marianne, I’m going to do it tomorrow morning.  I have to fast from midnight on so they can get a fasting blood sugar….then I’m not sure if I have to stay at the hospital the whole time or if I get to leave, but I’ll drink their super-duper glucola solution and have my blood drawn every hour after that for 3 hours…sounds like fun huh!?

 

We would appreciate all the prayers we can get.  We know that many of those that don’t pass the first one often pass the second one.  We aren’t worried about it, but if we end up with gestational diabetes we are a bit concerned as to if we will be allowed to deliver in Smith Center or if we will have to go to Hastings.  At this point, we can only speculate as to what it would actually mean, and we trust God is ultimately in control here.  Nonetheless, prayers are always appreciated!

 

As soon as I know anything, I’ll try to give another update. 

 

 

The Best I could do...

Under the circumstances....I totally had planned on actually putting on the laces of the ball instead of just a red strip....but I just am not up to all that today and didn't want to put it off to tomorrow not knowing how I'd feel then!

Anyway, here is the picture of the baseballs. Karla will be bringing the bat and I will try to get pics of the whole event so we can share them!

Marion had a meeting tonight so while I worked on frosting the baseballs, this is what I had the kids doing:

They loved the picnic idea and were thrilled with the peanut and butter sandwiches with frosted graham crackers...as you can tell...we took the easy way out! Good thing I had permission from my Aunt Patti to take the day off! ;0)

Uggh...I've got a cold!

I'm so sad...not to mention sick...but I definitely ended up with a cold! We had several good months there after starting elderberry suppliments that none of us were sick...but after two nights of very little sleep and several days of running around, I can no longer deny that I feel horrible! ;0)

Jonny had a runny nose on Monday and still has traces of it with a slight cough at night but doesn't seem to be worse for the wear! Abi complained of a sore throat on Tuesday night and yesterday morning, but by mid afternoon said she felt fine...the sore throat did return this morning, but she says she is feeling fine now!

What is absolutely hilarious to me is that I'm the one who has been eating the oranges, taking Vitamin D (which one friend declares to be the answer) and the elderberry (which another friend highly recommends), plus taking my pregnancy vitamins and I am the one the sickest! HA!

So far it is just a head cold and I am praying it doesn't do anything else, plus goes away quickly! But it is hard to rest when you can't breathe, your eyes water all the time, and your head thumps like a jack hammer! Since I can't take anything but tylenol, I've been using the baby's all natural chest rub called "Ah-choo"...it really seems to loosen up the congestion, but then I'm constantly blowing my nose! Oh the fun!

(I know this seems like I'm complaining alot, and I ask for indulgence on that...I really am so thankful that we haven't had alot of sickness and nothing with the flu or H1N1. God had truly blessed us this winter with the health we have had and even a severe head cold is way better than fighting all the other stuff we could have had. I want to make sure I keep things in perspective and remain appreciative even though at the moment I don't feel well!)

Something New

Well, I decided to try something new and we downloaded the new Office 2010 Beta!  It is definitely a different experience from the 2003 Office we have been used to.  Fortunately for me, I have had some experience with Office 2007 on my Mom’s computer! 

 

Marion is not one for change and I think jumping 7 years in progress may be a huge adjustment for him, but luckily we can have Office 2003 co-existing until we decide to go one way or the other!  We also have until October to decide if we want to jump to 2010, buy 2007, or stay with our 2003!  (by the way, did I mention that trying the 2010 beta is free!)

 

UPDATE ON BABY 4 – We had a doctor’s visit yesterday…we are now 30 weeks and doing well.  Heartbeat was strong, blood pressure was good!  I had to take my glucose test but we won’t have the results for that for a few days.  All in all, nothing too exciting to report…we have started the 2 week appointments now and as Marion and I figure it, we should have about 3 appointments left before baby (unless they decide to take me down to weekly in March before the section). 

 

OTHER NEWS – I am seriously considering putting Jonathan into 3Ts…He is just so big for his age and his belly button is almost always showing and his pants come up above his ankles when he sits in 2Ts…Here we aren’t even 2 yet and considering 3s…but before I move him for sure, I need to make sure the 3s won’t be too big! 

 

Tonight the boys are going to Grandma Schlatter’s for the night and the rest of us are going to a meeting at the church.  Marion has Elder’s meeting and I have a CCN meeting!  Abi is going to go along and watch a movie while I have my meeting!  Then the rest of the week will be preparation for Birthdays…I’ve got to make the baseball cakes and wrap presents. 

 

I’ll try to get pictures posted of the birthday celebration early next week.  That is all I can think of at the moment.  Abi and I are planning to sit down and go through her camera one of these days…maybe we will get a few posted for you to see when we get them all downloaded and sorted!

Not much going on....

Well, the blog has been on my mind - especially since I now have all five of my blog books and am LOVING them - but really I can't think of anything very 'interesting' going on!  Life is kinda just humming along...nothing really extra or exciting at this point. 

 

Like I just said, I did get the blog books and they are AWESOME...Marion is so happy that we have them...especially now that he's seen them.  They include pictures and stories just like the blog with a table of contents!  As we've looked back through them, we have been AMAZED at how young Abi looked or the funny stories...it is a great way to remember those things that we haven't looked at for a long time!  It has also been very interesting to see how the years of our lives have repeated themselves in so many things.  If any of you have a blog...I'd definitely recommend looking at Blog2Print!

 

We also did get our new chest of drawers.  It was shocking how clean the room looked when I got my clothes put in the drawers :0)  I still have a lot to do to get everything put together but at least the main clothes are off the floor now!  I am gonna have to figure out how to refold my clothes to better utilize the space and I want to sort through my tubs of clothes to see what needs to be kept, given away, and can now be put in the drawers.  The other day I did get the baby's clothes out and put them in the chest...now to move over the stuff from the changing table that needs to be in our room!  As you can see, there are still things I want to do, but the main clothes are put away anyway!

 

Nathan has been going with Marion to do chores almost every day lately.  Yesterday was Jonathan's turn and Abi went with Daddy today, but most of the time Nathan goes and helps chop ice and feed cows - this takes most of the morning and it has been refreshing to have time with just two of the kids during this time.  We have been so thankful for the snow suits we have been given and the farm boots have been a HUGE blessing!  Now that we have had some warmer weather, the kids have really enjoyed playing outside too, though Abi has the least tolerance for the coldness!  The other day Nathan and Jonathan played outside with the cars, trucks, and tractors for a good hour before I heard anything from them...they were having such a great time!  I am expecting a lot more muddy clothes because the snow is melting so much more now...but a few loads of laundry is nothing compared to the joy and exercise they get from being outside!

 

Our next two weeks have a bit more activity in them.  Tomorrow we start Story Hour again for the spring season.  After story hour, Abi will go to Grandma's for the rest of the day and to stay the night...she is pretty excited about it.  Then next Tuesday the boys will go do the same.  (We are starting to get them prepared to stay over then when the baby comes!)  We also have a baby shower for a friend from church on Saturday and next week is birthday/hunting weekend.  Since Jonathan and I share a birthday with cousin B we are gonna have cake and ice cream at Grandma's house this year.  (B is Marion's brother's son...they have requested we no longer include full names on blogs that can be seen publicly for security reasons...knowing the situation I am happy to comply...I just hope I don't forget ;0)  Anyway, Marion's brothers are also having their big annual hunting weekend - we don't really participate in that but we usually see them around while they are here!

 

Tomorrow is two months away from the scheduled delivery date (see the Jan.8th update for details on that).  We are doing well...although I have been having some cravings which I never remember having in the third trimester with the other kids before.  The worst part of the cravings is I am mostly craving chocolate!   Oh well, I am still doing well in comparison with my weight...I'd like to be alot less but I'm doing what I can to keep it in check and at the max we've gained 10 lbs...alot better than the 30+ I had gained by this time with Nathan!

 

Well, I guess for not much this post is long enough.   Have a great day and I'll try to keep you posted of anything else that comes along!

 

 

My Diapers.com Baby Registry

As baby #4 gets closer to coming, I have been doing some cleaning and organizing in preparation for his arrival. I have also been asked by a couple different people if there was anything I was needing for baby. All this got me thinking about baby items and nice to's. Since I was on the diapers.com site getting a baby gift for a friend, I went ahead and put together a little registry. I might add some more things as I look around and see what else I need but I wanted to go ahead and post the link for those who have been waiting for it.

Just go to the site and click on baby registry, you should be able to find us from there: http://www.diapers.com

I really like diapers.com and use it frequently. If anything, it will give ideas of things I could really use. Our baby bathtub is pretty much shot...it went through all of my sister's kids and then all three of mine so far...I think maybe a new one is in order. I've also never had a bouncy seat...I've gotten along just fine, but I can see how with more kids, it might come in real handy. (I'd really like one of the boppy bouncers that I saw on Target.com...but I wasn't gonna do a second registry! ;0)

As is expected, we already have most of what we need, but there are a few things that have gotten broken, over used, or need to be replaced - like the diaper changing pad - you can only duct tape something so many times :0) I really hope this doesn't come across like I'm asking for things...please don't take it that way...we are very happy to be having baby 4...and I couldn't ask for anything more than another baby to love!

Date SET

I got confirmation from the OBGYN in Hastings indicating the c-section for Baby #4 is March 15, 2010 at 7:30 a.m.

It is planned right now for us to deliver in Smith Center again with Dr. Pankratz from Hastings coming to do the actual delivery. Dr. Overmiller will continue to do the check ups and will assist in the delivery as well as take charge of the baby when he is out. We are so relieved to be able to have this baby in Smith Center too! Dr. Pankratz basically assured us that aside from extreme circumstances, we'd be able to deliver here and then proceeded to schedule the section for two weeks early so that those extreme circumstances were less of a possibility!

The section is actually only 11 official days before the due date, so that isn't so bad. Abi was born 12 days early and Nathan was 14 days so that is pretty common for us. Jonny was our exception being born just 4 days early! I'm starting to get excited yet know we still have over two months left to wait!

We will keep you posted if anything changes...I see the doctor again on the 18th and then we will start going every two weeks after that!

Ponderings...

Disclaimer:  The following thoughts are those of a human, meaning they are fallible and possibly incomplete.  There is no claim that these ponderings have any sort of authority but if the Ultimate Authority so chooses to use these ponders, then glory be to HIM!  There may be readers of these ponderings that do not agree with them, that is fine, I am not seeking a debate only to ponder, if you can comment without debating, you are welcome to. If you have VERIFIABLE PROOF FROM SCRIPTURE (that is the WORD OF GOD, the BIBLE) that a ponder is incorrect, PLEASE SHARE IT...my ultimate desire is that nothing in me be contrary to God's Word!

Ruts:  Why is it that we get into a rut, pattern, habit (whatever you want to call it) and can't get out?  Why is it that change is so hard to embrace?  I think it is a lack of power!  Yep, that is what I think.  We have disconnected ourselves from the ONLY power source that can free us!  In our own strength we are powerless to do anything but go with the flow around us!  So then I ask, why don't we RE-connect to the power source?  Why do we continue to walk in the rut instead of connect to THE power source that can free us?  If I dare say it...we are AFRAID!  Yep, afraid of what will be required, afraid of the unknown, afraid of giving up the illusion of control in our lives, afraid to be a freak, afraid to not fit in, afraid of what others will think.  AND, with SO many FAKE power sources out there that offer 'proven' and 'acceptable' solutions, why risk what we are afraid of when we can just keep going from fake temporary relief to fake temporary relief!  I mean come on...we don't REALLY want to be FREE...right?  Just give me a little relief, make me feel better for a while, then I'll comfortably sink back into my rut until I need more relief and we'll repeat the same procedure!  Life moves forward and we don't have to face the fears of what the TRUE Power Source will require of us!  Comfort is all that is required...Comfort is true living...after all, aren't we supposed to 'pursue happiness'?  Isn't that our RIGHT!?   Doesn't God WANT us to be HAPPY?

Here is something to ponder:

John 16:33 (Amplified Bible) I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]

Um...that sounds like a promise (or at least a fact)...you WILL have tribulations, trials, distresses, and frustration! But can we avoid such things?  Look at that last part...'I [Jesus] have deprived it [the world] of POWER...'  Now it may seem that I've digressed from ruts but seriously think about this.  We don't tap into the TRUE Power Source for fear of the unknown thinking we can get temporary relief from the fake stuff and be happy and comfortable...BUT God says no matter what...in this world...you aren't going to be totally happy...or comfortable...outside of the ONE who 'deprived [the world] of power to harm you'!  We live in a false illusion, blinded by the FAKE power out there!  We've fallen into a trapped thinking that we can obtain comfort and comfort is living!  When we realize the TRUTH of the situations we face, we then see that we aren't supposed to be comfortable...we are supposed to be FREE!  Happiness is nothing it is JOY we seek!

Let's look at the perfect example of living we've been given:  Was Jesus comfortable when he lived on earth? NO. Was Jesus liked by everyone...or accepted by even his family? NO. Did Jesus have peace and joy?  YES.   Did Jesus have power? YES.  So, if God's own SON didn't live in comfort or pursue earthly happiness, why would we think that it is God's purpose for us?  Life was never meant for us to simply be comfortable but to be FREE.

Here is my bottom line on ruts and habits that control us...We need POWER to be FREE and until we tap into that POWER and receive FREEDOM we will never see the truth of what LIVING is about!

Are you comfortable in your ruts?  Are you too AFRAID?  Remember...the One with the POWER has overcome the world...who's side do you want to be on...the One who overcomes or the one that is overcomed?

1 John 5:5 (NIV) Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Revelation 2:7 (NIV) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Um, I'm thinking being in paradise with God sounds ALOT better than being satisfied with my ruts here on earth...even if God requires tough things of me!  I'd rather stand rightly before HIM, than in my own power now and without HIM later on!  I encourage you...tap in to the POWER of Jesus Christ...Let HIM set you free...all it takes is a surrendered knee!