One Year, 12 Months, 365 Days.

We have been in Gillette now for an entire year.  It almost doesn't seem possible that so much time has passed, until I glance over at my now 5 month old Gracie.  Life is good.  It's not perfect, but I am constantly reminded that God is in control and has purpose in all things.  All things. 

I knew a year ago that this was definitely God's plan for us, and I'm still certain of that.  I'm so grateful for the friends that loved us so well in Harrisonburg.  While I still refer to Virginia as "home," I also refer to Gillette as "home."  One of the most difficult things about the move was watching Noah struggle in the beginning.  He doesn't adjust to new things very well, (he's an introvert like his dad), so it was painful to see him so upset in new situations.  But now he has friends.  Good friends.  Friends to build legos with, to play superheroes with, and to giggle about poop with.  Chloe has friends too, but that's never been something she has struggled with (quite the social butterfly that one is). 

I can say I have friends here now too.  When we first moved here everyone I met was a potential friend, but if I'm honest, I was primarily concerned with finding friends for my sweet struggling boy.  I also knew that the adjustment from working-mom to stay-at-home-mom would be difficult and that I needed to get involved in things outside my house (for my sake and for the kids).  I'm grateful to Angie, for being the first one to come to my house for a playdate, and for being my first friend here.  For Jessica, Jennifer and Theresa, who found me on fb after meeting me briefly at the first MOPS meeting I went to.  For Jessica (again), who read a blog post I wrote and invited me to a bi-monthly book study/playgroup and to visit her church as well.  For Josey, who asked me some intentional questions when I first met her and later that night invited me to come to the Bible Study that would be starting the following week.  For Josey (again) and Bethany, who let an outsider join them for some playdates and whose kids I just love.  God used all of you ladies to make my first few months here much easier and happier than they could have been.  I am blessed to know each of you and grateful that you reached out to me even though I know how busy you already were. 

I am also so grateful not only for the job that Matt has, but the people he works with and for.  Bruce and Maryann have been so welcoming, even hosting us at their house for our first Thanksgiving.  Everyone else at the store is always so happy to see us when we stop by.  Brenda and her son helped us unload the moving truck.  Lisa babysat the kids a couple of times and organized an amazing baby shower along with Janae for Grace.  We feel incredibly blessed and well cared for by the Marshall Jewelry family.

Aside from Noah's adjustment period, the other difficult aspect of the move has been finding a church.  We spent the better part of this year going to different churches and really missing our Covenant family back home.  I was excited to visit churches at first, but then I was sort of in mourning for the loss of Cov Pres.  We have felt firmly called to be at Living Rock for the past several months now, and are so grateful to be able to call a church here, "home."  We're glad to be in a homegroup again and for the excitement of getting to know our new church family. 

One year in and things are good, because God is good.  He is intentional and is so kind to us when we don't even begin to deserve it.   

This sinner doesn't do a very good job of keeping up with old friends like I should.  But I also know that my sweet friends that I miss so dearly back on the East Coast will always be my sweet friends.  Our cups of coffee or skype sessions may be few and far between, but you have impacted my life in amazing ways and I am so grateful for each of you.  And though I may only say it occasionally on a cute picture of your kids on fb, I miss you.  I really do.  I miss late nights outside of Bravos, or just in my living room.  I miss standing in the kitchen while our kids run around us and the husband tend the grill.  I miss watching your kids grow up with my own eyes.  I miss giving them hugs and knowing firmly that they'd be lifelong friends.  I miss beach weekends and sitting up on the roof or outside on the porch swing.  I miss road trips and loud music and staying up way too late.  I miss getting to go to all the showers and weddings.  So many good, happy memories to keep.  So thankful for them.  For you. 

God is good. 

Goodbye Summer

July and August have been a blur.  In the best way possible, but still, a blur.  By early to mid July I was feeling pretty good.  I don't quite remember when I felt fully recovered, but I know it's been a while now.  I'm so grateful for all the help we were given and all the prayers as well.  We've been having fun figuring out this family of five thing...as in all journeys, there are ups and downs.  Mostly, we're loving it.

We have been very busy with visitors in the last couple of months.  First my dad, then Aunt Linda, Uncle Les and Joelle.  My sister came in August and our dear friends the Lookabills were just here last week.  Matt's mom is coming next week and my mom a few weeks after that.  Phew.  Quite the revolving door we've had.

Here's a quick glimpse of what the past couple of months have been like.  

 Dad's visit over the 4th.  I was still recovering a bit, but Matt, Dad and the kids did get to go to Devil's Tower.  Also lots of lego time.

 Gracie's bath time is a family event. The kids pull up chairs as soon as they hear me say the word. 

 Chloe is still a very proud big sister.  She adores Gracie...and has a hard time leaving her alone.

 Matt bought a weed-eater that came with a leaf blower.  Noah thinks he's pretty hot stuff when he takes care of the lawn with his daddy. 

Grace was about a month old here.  And yes, Noah really needed a haircut...

 ...so we gave him one.  Matt and I tried to convince him to keep the mohawk, but he didn't like it. 

It was so good to see some Valentine family...and they showed up in perfect time to let Matt and me actually go out on a date for our anniversary!  (after the kids were in bed - but still, very exciting)

Emma and Grace - Such sweet easy babies.

Smores on their first night here...the kids were a little weary of the fire.  

Naomi and Chloe are two peas in a pod.  Oh boy!  The boys were too busy playing to want to let me get a good picture of them.

The kids really exhausted Aunt Rachel - but we saw a lot and had a great time!

Grace has gotten so expressive...the best is when she smiles like this for Noah or Chloe.

Who do you think Gracie looks like?

One of the most common questions we've gotten since having Grace is, "who does she look like?" What do you think? Below are pictures of each kid at around 2 weeks.

GRACE

GRACE

CHLOE

CHLOE

NOAH

NOAH

A New Sister

Matt and I have joked in the past months that Noah and Chloe were more excited about meeting Grace than we were.  The day that Matt's parents arrived in town, Noah kept telling us to "leave so you can get Baby Grace out."  We've been home for 3 full days now and the excitement over Grace's arrival has not waned.  The kids were excited to see Matt and me when we got home...but they were over the moon to finally see Grace.   

Noah, dutiful big brother that he is, immediately started telling us what Grace wanted.  He brought her some toys, told us that she wanted her hat off, etc.  He thinks he knows exactly what she wants at all times and is super helpful.

Chloe couldn't take her eyes off of Grace.  She kept giggling and saying, "Baby Grace is so tiny," or "Baby Grace is so funny!" 

Aside from Noah leaving to get her toys, neither kid wanted to be further than a foot from her since we walked in the door.  Unfortunately, Grace was a little hungry and overstimulated at this first meeting.  Her crying didn't upset the kids at all though, they just wanted to hug her and love on her. 

These are from our first full day home.  Grace has adapted beautifully to being patted, hugged, held and constantly having Noah and Chloe in her face. 

About twice every hour I have a conversation with the kids that goes something like this:
N: Can I hold Baby Grace?
C: No ME FIRST!
N: No me first...
And on and on.  If one of them is otherwise distracted, or I ask them to wait for some reason, they will continue to ask to hold her until I give up.  It's very sweet.  And a little tiring.

I thought the thing the kids would have the hardest time with was the time I have to spend with Grace.  But they really don't seem to be jealous at all.  They adore her.  The hardest thing for them so far has more to do with my limited capabilities while I'm recovering.  Please continue to pray for a quick recovery for me, and a gentle transition for all of us as this family of five settles into a new normal. 

Naomi Grace Valentine, The Birth Story

Wednesday, June 6 at 11:32 AM we welcomed sweet Naomi Grace into the world.  She weighed in at 7lbs, 2oz and was 18 inches long.  A two pound difference may not seem like a lot after a few years, but for us it is a startling difference.  She's so tiny and amazingly sweet...she already has us wrapped around her teeny little fingers. 
For those of you that are interested, the details of the birth are coming up next.  (That means lots of using the word uterus for those of you that would rather stop now, or skip to the pictures).

Okay, so I guess I'll start with last week, which was supposed to be when all of this would happen.  Matt's parents flew in on Sunday and we (Matt and I) left town midday Tuesday to go to Denver (we left the kids with their Mimi and Papa).  The amnio ended up showing that Grace's lungs weren't quite ready.  The doctor said we had about a 10% chance of her needing a ventilator and an additional 10% chance that she could have respiratory issues later on if we delivered that day.  Since I was doing so well (no bleeding, contractions, etc) we all agreed that it would be best to wait.  Our doctor wanted to wait a full week, which meant that Matt's parents wouldn't be able to meet sweet Grace when she came (sniff, sniff).  My mom was able to change her flight to come a day early and stay a day late, so she ended up being on kid duty while Matt and I went back to Denver. 
We arrived at the hospital around 8am on Wednesday and finished up the typical pre-surgery paperwork etc.  We were happy to find out that Matt would be allowed in the OR with me until Grace entered the world, then he would follow her up to the nursery and stay with her while they finished me up.  You know you're a "fun case" when they have med students observing and assisting with your care.  Matt said that there were about 16 people in the OR in total, also an indicator that you're a "fun case."  The surgery went well and they had Grace out fairly quickly.  They held her up so I could see her (from about 8 feet away), but then didn't actually bring her over to me to see up close and snuggle with.  Luckily, the anesthesiologist I had noticed and insisted they bring her back down to the OR so I could get some snuggles in.  Matt said he could tell I was doped up since I was kissing her face which had not yet been cleaned off sufficiently for him to kiss it (haha).  I'm so thankful for those snuggles and Dr.  Aubrey from Ireland who made sure I got them in.  I didn't know it at the time, but it was almost a full 3 hours from her birth until I got to see her again, so those snuggles really counted.

The rest of the surgery was sort of a blur.  They did end up giving me 2 units of blood during surgery and I could hear the Dr and one of the other Drs in his practice that was helping him discussing whether of not the uterus was salvageable.  I'm pretty sure that if I had been anywhere else, I wouldn't still have a uterus now.  Even his colleague told me later that she was chicken and would have just taken it out (which made me even more glad that I had the Dr that I had).  Apparently my uterus was attached to the muscle wall, so even a hysterectomy would have been "a little tricky,"  but I'm just glad it wasn't necessary.  I was with it enough to complement the other Dr on her pearls, so I was obviously in good spirits.  And can I say, I really did like that one of my drs was wearing pearls so I could see them...it just made me smile.

After my time in recovery I got to go back to my room and meet Grace again.  She was in the nursery having something done, so Matt went to get her as soon as I got back.  She was asleep and just looked so peaceful (and SO much like Matt).  For the next couple of hours they checked on me a lot and closely monitored my blood loss.  They decided to give me 2 more units of blood, plus plateletes and FFP (plasma).  I'm suddenly SO grateful for all the regular blood donors out there and am glad that I made an effort to be one myself.  Seriously, go donate blood people.  Okay, so the bleeding was bad enough that my doctor decided I needed another procedure.  I was sent to the Interventional Radiology Department for a procedure that sounded really complicated.  When we found out this was going to happen, I had already successfully nursed Grace one time.  Her nurse asked me (just in case they needed to feed her "again") whether I would prefer formula or donor breastmilk.  I don't think I had actually cried about the pregnancy complications a single time until that nurse asked me that.  I heard the word "again" and just lost it.  Apparently since I was in surgery a long time, and Grace was on the smaller side, they pretty much insisted (Matt did rally for me, but submitted to their advice) on feeding her before I got back to her from the initial surgery.  Oh my heart, I was seriously disturbed by this.  Poor Matt, I had been through so much at that point and lost it completely...I know that it just killed him to see me so upset.  Anyway, we agreed that if she needed it, they could do the donor breastmilk, but Matt was going to hold them off as long as possible. 

Grace and Me after my 2nd procedure.

So when I left for the next procedure, I had only spent about 3 hours with Grace (if that).  I was sort of rushed there...but then they didn't start the procedure for practically a full hour after I got there.  They were prepping, etc, but I just kept thinking that I wish I was with Grace and nursing her.  So they put a "catheter" into my uterus and inserted a bunch of "contrast" into it so they could see where the trouble areas were.  They then inserted some sort of foam into the "bad spots" to stop the bleeding.  The instructions were given to me very clearly, but several days later and that's the best way I can describe it.  It was sort of a staged process, cause they had to insert the contrast, then look, then put foam in where necessary, etc.  And all this was through a catheter, so there was a lot of screen watching inbetween the steps.  So it ended up taking much longer than we had hoped, but the IR doctor said it went really well.  And then he said that because of the contrast they inserted, I wouldn't be able to nurse Grace for 24 hours.   So the breakdown I had earlier was nothing compared to the breakdown when I heard "24 hours."  I knew that it was necessary, but I was sort of sobbing...uncontrollably. 

Matt giving Gracie a bottle.

Just like her brother...this girl likes to eat!

They continued to monitor my bleeding closely and were very pleased with how much it slowed down.  Thursday morning my doctor said that it would be very unlikely at that point for me to end up needing the hysterectomy (YAY!).  Around lunchtime on Thursday the goal was for me to actually get up out of bed, walk to the bathroom, and then maybe even get a shower in a little later.  I made it to the toilet alright, but almost fainted (while sitting).  Matt and the nurse got me back to the bed fine, and they put me on oxygen.  Aside from watching my bleeding they were also watching my oxygen saturation, since I was having a harder time breathing than usual.  They ended up deciding to give me 2 more units of blood (for a total of 6) that evening. 

Gracie at 2 days old.  So beautiful!

I woke up feeling SO much better on Friday morning.  Yay again for blood!  We were able to move from the 3rd floor up to the 11th floor, the "Mom & Baby" floor and to a room a third the size of our original one.  I was able to finally get a shower and started feeling much more human.  It was pretty much normal recovery from that point on, with one little blip.  On Saturday around noon a HUGE clot came out.  So huge that the nurse took it down to the 3rd floor (from 11th) so the dr on call  who was about to enter surgery could see it.  We started joking that I had another baby.  In all honesty, when I first saw it I breifly thought that it may have actually been my uterus...until I realized it didn't hurt at all...so that couldn't have been it.  They did check my blood levels again and started me on antibiotics and some meds that would basically stop the bleeding, but those were mostly precautionary.  I had had so little bleeding since the IR procedure that they thought it had just been pooling for a while and it was not new bleeding.  That was all confirmed, so it was nothing to worry about, just a little startling to see.  I really just wanted to leave the staff with something to talk about. 

Ready to go home on Sunday.

So that's pretty much it.  Grace adapted beautifully to nursing again and my milk had actually come in by the time we left the hospital (since we ended up staying for 5 days).  She was discharged at 7lbs, .25oz, so she was already back up to close to her birth weight due to the extra milk and the long stay.  She's doing great and is such a peaceful baby.  She slept the entire drive hope except for the 2 times we stopped so I could change her diaper and nurse her.  I was actually doing great before we left Denver but the drive home in high winds sort of shook me up.  I'm feeling better now that I've gotten the Rx for the strong meds filled, but still can't be on my feet for long or do much more than sit around.  I'm taking full advantage of my one week of full time help so that I'll be ready for it to be over on Saturday.  Thanks for anyone that takes the time to read all of this, please continue to pray for a speedy recovery for me and for Noah and Chloe to adjust well.  They're in love with Grace, but dont' like that I can't do everything for them that I could before.  Pictures of them meeting Grace coming up next...

Grace is Almost Here...

I think one of the reasons I haven't been blogging so much about this is that I've been trying hard not to overthink it.  But on May 30th, Grace will be in my arms.  Noah, Chloe and Grace, three kids that God has entrusted to Matt and myself to raise.  Quite honestly, it can be pretty daunting to think about.  I'm far from perfect as a mother of two...so when you toss an extra kid in the mix...I just have no idea what to expect.  And then I'm reminded that raising these kids is God's plan for me.  This is my ministry.  My life.  And He will equip Matt and me to do it.  And we will mess up.  It may not be "okay" all the time, but we'll be forgiven and by His grace, we'll learn.  By His grace, we will raise these sweet little creations to know and love their Savior.

Exhale. 

Grace.  She certainly is a gift from above...in every way.  We found out back in March that I have placenta accreta.  The specialist in Denver said it was a milder case and thought we'd probably be fine to deliver here in Gillette.  My doctor here isn't worried about the surgery, she's worried about not having good enough access to blood supplies in case I do have excessive blood loss during the surgery.  Because of that, we'll be delivering in Denver (per the recommendation of my Dr here).  I guess it sounds a little scary, but the danger that is caused by this type of complication is much, much more severe when it's discovered during delivery.  The fact that this is known, and that the doctor and hospital will be well prepared for it is good.  Aside from the risk of blood loss, I do also have the risk of ending up with a hysterectomy.  The doctor thinks that it's not a definite, so I'm praying that it is not necessary.  Aside from the hormonal roller-coaster that would send me on, it would also extend my recovery period (and I'll have 3 littles at home).  Please pray that the "hyst" as the dr so lovingly called it, is not necessary.  Either way, we are done.  The risk of similar and possibly worse complications with another pregnancy is high...and just not worth it.  Matt and I are fine with this (yes, really), but again, pray against the hysterectomy...because I may not be as fine with it if I'm on that hormonal roller coaster. 

So we leave tomorrow for Denver.  We're planning on leaving after lunch, so we aren't rushed.  Okay, yes.  So I have plenty of time for Target, Old Navy and Chic-fil-a.  Give a girl a break, I've gone through almost this entire pregnancy without my worldly preggo-comforts.  I can practically taste the milkshake now...
Sorry, easily distracted over here.
We'll be staying at a hotel pretty close to the hospital (St. Luke's Presbyterian) so that we can get there easily on Wed morning.  I'll have an amniosentisis at 8am to make sure Grace's lungs are fully matured.  Assuming they are, the c-section is scheduled for 10am.   That's mountain time people, so know that the earliest Matt would get anything posted or texted will probably be closer to 1pm east coast time.  People keep asking what the plan is if the amnio doesn't give us the results we need.  Ummm, that's not happening.  My original due date was 10 days earlier, so while I'll technically be at 37.5 weeks, I consider myself more like somewhere between 37.5 and 39 weeks.  And if you've seen my belly lately, you know this girl has got to be ready to come out. 
The earliest we'd leave Denver will be Friday, but it will just depend on what ends up happening during surgery and how I'm recovering.  I really want to get home as quickly as possible, so I'm praying that we can leave no later than Saturday.

Noah and Chloe will be staying here at the house with Matt's parents.  They arrived on Sunday and ever since they've gotten here Noah keeps telling me I need to hurry up and go get Gracie out.  I'm not sure if he's more excited to meet Grace, or to have the undivided attention of his Mimi and Papa.  Probably a little of both.  I'm not at all worried about him while we're gone, but I am a little anxious about leaving Chloe.  I'm so glad she gets to be here at our house, with Noah and with her Mimi and Papa...but this will be her first night away from me.  Yes, I know that's ridiculous, but it's just the way it is, so that's another reason I really hope to get back from Denver as soon as possible.  I have to say that I'm incredibly spoiled when it comes to my in-laws.  They're pretty amazing and I'm just so glad that they could be here for N & C and to help out afterwards for a few days.

Thank you so much friends for praying for me and my family through this.  We're grateful for every prayer and kind word and trust our loving God that we're in His hands. 

And now I need to be getting ready for bed...but I think I need a snack first.  

Noah...is FOUR!!

Noah turned 4 on April 4th.  In some ways it's hard to believe that so much time has passed since he was a sweet little baby.  But he also says things that seem so grown up sometimes it almost seems like he should really be 5.  He's a kid now...not a baby, not a toddler, a KID.  (Elisa - You warned me this would happen when he turned 3...and you were right...and it's c.r.a.z.y.)  And a pretty darn awesome kid at that.

Noah at 2 weeks old

He requested a dinosaur cake (thank goodness since I had the pan) and picked the colors himself.  The purple part was actually him being sweet to Chloe...since that's her favorite color (seriously, he is THE best big brother EVER). 

Noah was sad that his Virginia friends and family couldn't come to his party.  But, I'm so glad that by the time his birthday rolled around he felt like he had friends here.  He is still so shy when he first meets people, and gets overwhelmed in situations with a lot of people, so it was a sort of slow process at first.  When we first moved I think this was the hardest thing for him and for me.  But praise God for all his little friends (and for their mommies that are my friends)!

Noah has gotten into superheroes of late.  Very into superheroes.  He talks about them and pretends that he's a superhero often.  Right now The Hulk is his favorite, "because he's the strongest."  He also decided that since he's 4, and a "big kid" he needs to learn to write.  It amazes me...he'll sit at the table for over an hour working on writing letters.  He'll make me grocery lists and make birthday cards for his friends (regardless of when their birthday is).  He can't really write words yet, so he just writes a bunch of letters and tells me what they say.  His patience and persistence really impresses me.  He has also started drawing more intentional pictures.  Drawing people, superheroes (of course), animals, etc.  He has pretty much stopped taking naps altogether, so he has lots of quiet big boy time that he uses to practice all his new big boy skills.  He frequently asks me if whatever he is working on at the time is something that Luke and Micah (his older cousins) can do. He does get frustrated with himself if he can't do something the way he wants to right away (he gets that from Matt).  He just expects so much of himself. He has gotten much better at being patient and has realized that practicing is a necessity (thank goodness since at first he would start crying if his "A" didn't look just like mine...).  I just love watching him grow up and learn.  

Noah makes me smile and laugh a thousand times a day.  He is such a gift and I'm so grateful for the loving God that created him and blessed me so much by letting me be his mom.  My heart is full. 

Back to Old Habits...

Okay, so I can hardly believe that it's been almost 3 months since my last blog post.  So much has happened...so I'll make this a quick review...

Trip to Denver went well, but we will end up delivering Grace there.  I have Placenta Accreta, which isn't nearly as bad as it could have been...but worse than we had hoped for.  Ultimately, we're SO thankful that we know about it ahead of time and could plan around it.  God has provided so well for us through this journey - we have nothing to complain or worry about.  More on this later...

Noah turned 4 on April 4th.  This is INSANE and I still haven't wrapped my mind around it.  I have a 4 year old?!?  He's completely wonderful, sweet, and so smart...I really don't think I could love this kid more or be more proud of the little man he is.  Also more on this later (he definitely deserves his own post!)

My dad was our first visitor!!  He arrived on Noah's birthday and left on Easter Sunday.  We had a great visit and the kids are already looking forward to the next time he comes. 

Since Easter I've been trying to get ready for Grace's arrival.  We did some house rearranging and painted her room.  Basically, if you're wondering why I haven't been blogging, it's because I've been nesting.  Also napping a lot.  hehe:) 

We've been here in Wyoming for over 6 months now...which is so crazy to think about.  It has become our new normal.  There are of course some things we dislike (distance from family, the INSANE wind, etc...), but there's much more that we do like.  I'm so grateful for the courage that Matt had to move us across the country.  God provided an opportunity, and he didn't hesitate to take it...and we have been so incredibly blessed since we moved here. 

MRI and Chic-fil-a: Always a Silver Lining

Last Saturday I hit the 25 week mark of this pregnancy.  In some ways this actually seems like the slowest pregnancy...partially because I'm home all the time and partially because there are more uncertainties this time around.  We found out at our 20 week ultrasound (I know, sorry I didn't tell you sooner) that we are definitely having another girl.  We were pretty sure from the previous US, but it was nice to have the "definite" confirmation before I started painting the room.

Baby Grace was doing great, which was a HUGE sigh of relief for me.  During the US the tech looked at everything before the heart...it was making me so anxious.  When she finally tried to look at the heart she couldn't get a good shot...and that was making me even more anxious.  I finally asked her if everything looked okay and she said it did, but Grace was just moving around a lot so she had a hard time getting the measurements.  Anyway, she got them and Grace looks perfect. 

On the flip side, we also learned that I definitely do have placenta previa (we knew previously that there was a chance).  The US (oh yes, I've already had to have 2 of the not as fun kind of USs...yuck) showed that I may have one of these more serious conditions: placenta accreta, increta and percreta.  Basically, the US showed that the placenta may have attached itself to my scar from my previous c-sections (hello huge reason to not have an unnecessary c-section).  Our doctor (who Matt and I really like and trust already) is sending me to Denver for an MRI so that they can determine where exactly the placenta has attached.  The doctor that we'll see in Denver has actually written textbooks on these conditions, so we'll be in good hands. 

Best case scenario is that we find out I just have placenta previa and I'll be able to deliver here in Gillette.  If I do have one of the more serious conditions I'll need to go to Denver to deliver.  My appointments are next Friday the 16th, so we'll know more details then.  We're obviously praying to find out that I only have placenta previa, but we're mostly SO grateful that we know what we know now rather than later.  The danger would be significantly increased if any of these conditions are discovered during labor. 

As always, God shows us His goodness and sovereignty in the midst of difficult situations.  Again, we are so incredibly thankful that what's going on inside my body is not endangering our sweet little Grace.  We're thankful to be able to prepare emotionally and prayerfully for the appointment and the rest of the pregnancy, the delivery and the recovery.  We're thankful that while a regular pregnancy would not have been covered by our new insurance (which was a huge added stress to us earlier in the pregnancy), a "complicated" one will be covered.  There are a bunch more little things to be grateful for, be assured that God is in the details - in so many ways.  Lastly, I'm thankful that I will get some chic-fil-a during this pregnancy.  Yes, Denver has Chic-fil-a, and yes, I'd be happy to eat every meal there while in town.  Matt and the kids are coming with me next week, so we'll have a little weekend away in the big city - hopefully the weather cooperates!

For you prayer warriors out there, here are some specifics to pray for:
-  Good weather (to make for safe driving to Denver) for our trip
-  Good news at the appts (1 appt for the MRI and a 2nd appt with the Dr) - that it's just placenta previa
-  That I don't have any spotting or cause for bedrest (chances go up in cases like mine)
-  Continued health for sweet little Grace as she grows

Noah and Chloe are getting so excited to meet their little sister.  They both frequently tell me they want her NOW.  More on that in another post.  Thank you friends for praying for me and sweet little Grace.

I'm the Incredible Hulk!!!

Noah remains the sweetest little boy and big brother on the planet.  Lately he's gotten really into superheroes.  Here's a sampling of the questions I get asked on a regular basis (as best I can remember, they probably aren't all word for word, but you'll get the gist).


Is the Green Lantern faster or is Superman faster?


Can Iron Man fly into outer space?


Why is he (Thor) naked?


What else can Superman do?


Can the Hulk fly?


Is (Thor, Superman, Iron Man, Spiderman, etc) faster than the Flash?  (I finally convinced him that The Flash is the fastest, so I haven't gotten that one in a while.)

Noah also likes to pretend to be all of these superheroes (he usually picks based on which one is on the underwear he's wearing that day). Things overheard while he's a superhero (always with his "serious superhero face" on and he usually deepens his voice and gets to just below a shout):

I will hammer you down!

No Chloe!  The bad guys are out there, stay inside, I'll fight them!  (He has Chloe stay in their room while he goes out in the hallway to fight the bad guys).

I got the bad guys, it's safe now...oh wait...now there's Transformers!  I'll save you Chloe!!!


Take that Shaggy Man!! (As he jumps on top of Matt full force)

Okay Mommy, you're safe, I threw the Shaggy Man onto the moon.

I absolutely love watching him pretend to be a superhero.  And I love that he always wants to protect his little sister.  Chloe, on the other hand will usually run right after him declaring "I'm vunna vumman!" (Wonder Woman). 

Big Boy Craft Time

I saw this great idea on another blog sometime back in the summer.  Of course I bought the materials back then, and just got around to actually doing it this week.  I'm glad I waited so that Noah could do it with me.  We started out with a few boxes of crayons (I removed the white, black and gray).

Noah's job was to arrange the colors in the order he wanted them in.  This took a lot of self control on my part, cause if you know me, you know I'm very particular about all things crafty.  (Okay, maybe all things in general...but especially all things crafty.) 

My job was to hot glue them to a canvas board in the order Noah chose.  I then rigged up some foil to catch any drippings...

...and put it in the oven at 185.  I checked on it about every 5 minutes.  Below is after the first 5 - Noah loved seeing the progression. 

While we waited Noah did "magic tricks" with the leftover crayons. 

Here's the finished product while it's still cooling off.  I had to use a flash, so the colors are a little distorted, but I think it looks so great.  This will be the first art down in the basement.  I'm so glad that Noah and I did this together, he is SO proud of it (as am I). 

I'd love to give credit to the blog that inspired this, but I can't remember which one it was.  I thought I found it at Come Together Kids, but the link I found there wasn't the one I had originally seen.  Anyway, thanks whoever first thought of this for the great idea!

Yesterday Chloe said one word that brought tears to my eyes.  "Noah."  She's been calling her big brother "Wawa" since she first started talking.  We think it's cute, so while I never call Noah "Wawa," I also never try to get her to stop.  All the sudden yesterday, she just started calling him by his proper name...and she did it all day.  She even corrected Matt when he asked her if she had had fun with Wawa, "No Daddy, No-ah!"  I'm not completely sure where the tears came from.  There are so many new things she says or does these days.  This particular one just blind-sided me.  My Chloe is a little girl.  Not a baby.  Uh-oh, the tears are a-comin again. 

I guess Noah couldn't be outdone by his sister.  Yesterday he looked at me and said, "Mommy, I think you need to take me to preschool." 

This growing up thing is just happening way too fast for my taste.

Here's a few semi-recent pics of the kiddos...since they make the blog so much prettier:)  We had a picnic outside at a nearby playground earlier this month (yes, it was warm enough even in Wyoming in January to have a picnic outside...at least for one day).  I took a ton of pics but I didn't have the settings right to get good shots in the bright sun.  These were the ones that turned out the best. 

Ten Weeks in...Wyoming

Today is cold and yucky. Wind chill is supposed to get in the -30s tonight and the roads are already slippery. BUT...I'm home with my babies and I don't have to leave (ever) if I don't want to. So I love it. From the warmth of the living room, I can see the snow blowing around and it's a nice picture (only because I don't have to go out in it). We had some new friends come over this morning for a playdate which was so fun. N and C play so well together, but there's something really sweet about seeing them get to know new little ones. Noah asked immediately after they left for another playdate soon:). So here are some more quick takes on our new state.

-When Wyoming applied for statehood, they had to count cattle since the state wasn't populated with enough people to gain statehood. At the time there was more cattle than people.

-We received a phone book the other day for "Northeastern Wyoming and the surrounding area" and it's half the size that our Hburg/Rockingham county one was.

-People talk about places that are 2-3 hours away as if they're just up the street. I'll have to live here a long time to get used to that...

-We paid our babysitter what we would have paid in VA...and the next day her mom (who works with Matt) returned half the money and laughed at how much babysitters must charge in VA. Works for me:)

-This has supposedly been a "mild winter." Thank you God for easing me in...

-Most people here are Broncos fans. It's rubbed off...I just can't help liking Tebow. (No worries, my loyalty remains with the Giants. I can't help but wonder if Matt will be upset if Noah ends up a Broncos fan??)

Another Girl...

We had our first ultrasound yesterday and found out that Baby 3 is most likely a girl. The cord was between her legs the entire time, so it's possible that in four weeks at the next ultrasound we'll have a little surprise. In the meantime the hardest thing for me will be to NOT buy anything yet...just in case. The reason we had to have this ultrasound was mostly because Matt and I didn't have a firm grasp on how pregnant I might be. You know the typical questions...
"When was the first day of your last period?"
"8.31.11...I think."
"How sure are you?"
"Not at all..."
So according to the date I gave them, they thought I could be at about 19 weeks, but after the US, they bumped me back to 17.5 weeks putting my due date at 6.16.12. I'm really glad about the date change since they won't let me go past 39 weeks anyway. The date bump also means that Baby wasn't big enough yet for the typical full anatomy ultrasound...so I have to have another one in 4 weeks. Those of you that know me know how much I hate having any type of extra medical anything done to me...but I am glad that we'll get a more definitive look so we can be sure that she is in fact a girl.
The only concern the doctor had was that the placenta was covering my cervix. I'm praying and believing that it will move up out of the way as Baby grows. Specifically, that it's implanted in the endometrial lining and NOT in my uterus. For now, please pray with me that that is the case. There could be other complications down the road if it's not...but I don't want to talk about worst case scenarios right now. Either way, Baby was looking great and this won't effect her. God is the author of life and is in control of this situation - thanks so much for your prayers.
On a lighter note, Chloe and Noah are very excited to have a little sister. They both love babies so much - I'm so excited to see their little faces when they finally get to meet her for the first time. Here are some names they've suggested since yesterday (in parenthesis, the kid that suggested it):
Matthew (Noah)
Chloe (Noah)
Anya (Noah)
Atti (Noah)
Like (Chloe)
Watch (Chloe)
Eden (Chloe)

And here's Chloe changing her baby's diaper.

Another First...Christmas

Our first Christmas in Wyoming has already come and gone.  Matt had to work six days a week almost all of December, and until after 7 for the week leading up to the 25th.  We're all so glad that his schedule will only be like that one time a year...and now we have him back! 

We spent a lot of time leading up to Christmas talking about Jesus's Birthday...and the main question that Noah kept coming up with was, "How are we going to give Jesus his presents?"  It gave us lots of opportunities to explain and demonstrate to Noah how we can give Him gifts (I just love seeing things click in his little head).  I think that it did confuse him a little that he received gifts on Christmas, (and not just Jesus), but I think by next year he'll be able to understand more clearly.  Chloe has become a big prayer warrior in the family, she loves talking to Jesus and reminds us to pray daily.  I did intend to make a "Happy Birthday Jesus" birthday cake, but just ran out of time (good thing the kids were too young to notice). 

It was a very different Christmas for us, but it was nice to have a low key day and enjoy time together.  We were able to have a relaxing morning (if that's possible with a 2 and 3 year old surrounded by presents) and go to church.  We let Noah stay up through his nap so he could have "big boy" time to play with some of his more time consuming and Chloe-unfriendly toys.  We got to skype with a lot of family, but missed being able to actually spend time with them.  I guess in a way we've been spoiled by all the holidays we have spent with family.  It's hard to believe that it was 7 years ago that we had our first Christmas with a Micah as a baby.  Since then we've watched him, Riley and Uriah grow up with Noah and Chloe through holidays, birthdays, and many family nights.  They adore each other and it's so sad to be so far away from them.  

Here are some pictures from our much quieter than usual Christmas Day.