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Tuesday, August 21, 2018

More Baby Shower Pictures 2
























More Baby Shower Pictures





















A Surprise Baby Shower

Barb, Steph, Mikaela, and my mom surprised me with a baby shower on August 11th!! It was wonderful! So this was supposed to be a “housewarming party” for my mom but turned out to be a baby shower for me! I wanted to walk down to her house so Derrick, the boys, and I set off with her gift and the girls were already there helping. When we got to her house I saw lots of my friends cars. I said I felt like we were at church because there were a lot of cars that are usually in our church parking lot! 😉 After everyone yelled, “Surprise!”, the boys took off to the movies to watch Incredibles 2. Uncle Jaared had already seen it and ran an errand and then hung out for a bit. I felt so blessed and special, only, a bit sad my mom didn’t get a housewarming party! 🙃














38 Weeks, 5 Days

I went to the dr yesterday. The baby is estimated to weigh 8.2. I am dilated to a 2 (all by myself!) which is a big deal for me! I have always been a 1 at the end of my pregnancies, with the exception of Isabella. With her, I had contractions for days and called Derrick out of work twice thinking I was in true labor when I wasn’t. I had dilated to a 3 and gone into labor. I have had “tightening” in my stomach for several days so I hope my body is doing something. I am scheduled to go to the hospital on the morning of the 23rd so whether I go into labor on my own or not, we will have our baby very soon! 🤗
http://jessconnell.com/hard-year-joy-baby-9-ideas-drive-us/

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Birth Stats Part 1

I have been watching a lot of birth vlogs and reading birth stories since I’ve been pregnant. I’ve noticed that many moms have some patterns in their births. Every birth differs but I’ve seen some that tend to have quicker labors consistently, go over their due dates consistently, and some other things that make predicting certain things about their labor to be accurate and go as they had kind of expected. Obviously, I’ve seen a lot of things that have gone unexpectedly as well. For me, one thing that has been consistent is the fact that I’ve had to have pitocin every.single.time. to progress labor. My body hasn’t seemed to like dilating on it’s own, at least not in a reasonable amount of time! Even when my water breaks as it has half the time. I want to shift a little from hearing about other’s experiences and start studying my own as labor draws ever so near. I remember the night I had gone into labor with Liv. We had walked around the neighborhood and were watching the cousins. We  ate some dinner outside on the picnic table  and took them bike riding and tree climbing. After the cousins left and everyone had gone to bed I heated up some fried potatoes and ketchup. It was midnight and I was reading over my past labors to see if I could find any pattern to my labors or labor sign that I could be close. I thought to myself how it was midnight and I’d be in trouble if I were to go into labor any time soon as I wasn’t rested. So I went to bed and one hour later I woke up in bed soaking wet! My water had broken! So here I was a week before my due date, not even packed for the hospital because the others had been late, aside from Sam on her due date (who does that?!), and running around like crazy up and down the stairs with a towel between my legs trying to pack. Derrick wanted to help but didn’t know what I needed. My earliest (so far) is 6 days and my latest is (so far) 6 days over.

36 Weeks, 6 Days

Getting closer and closer each day! The baby moves around like crazy with huge movements. I really enjoy getting to feel that. I will be 37 weeks tomorrow! I’m very excited to go into labor (most likely be induced although I’d much rather go on my own) and meet the baby! It’s fun to stare at the boy and girl clothes wondering which we will be using. With the dr wanting to induce at 39 weeks, it looks like it will just be a couple of weeks. However, I’m going to try and push it as far as I can up to my due date. Many of the cousins fall into the 20s along with some of ours and we have some dates that would be fun to add to that pattern. Caden- the 22nd, Bailey-23rd, 24- no one yet, 25- Mia and Noah,  Pai-26th, and the 27th would be another good one to fill. Today I took the kids up to Derrick’s base to get free school supplies and Derrick took us out to lunch at Los Cabos. It was a fun day!

On August 9th, the baby was estimated to weigh 7.1.

Sunday, August 5, 2018

35 Weeks, 4 Days

At the dr today, I was tested for Group B strep. The baby is estimated to weigh 6lbs4oz. Dr. Martin said she wants to induce me at 39 weeks (my age). I asked if that was the latest she’d want me to go and she said that’s what is recommended and maybe I could go a couple of days over if I wanted.

Friday, July 13, 2018

33 Weeks, 2 Days

I had a dr appointment today and it was short and sweet. The baby is estimated to weigh 5lbs4oz. I had a good blood draw this time (last time they had to do it twice and it was painful for awhile😞) for a thyroid check. I will go back in two weeks and will have my group B strep test. I watched Amaya (she had an exciting day and I’ll have to post pics of it soon) for a bit today and Lili took the kids to Safari Joe’s with Pai.

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Our 16th Anniversary

By Derrick:







This Dear Saint.
A bittersweet day. A funeral/anniversary day.

Anniversary first:
Today, I celebrate life with my bride of 16 years. Here’s our track record since June 29th, 2002: 1 apartment, 3 houses, 6 jobs, 4 deployments (away from home 345 days), 10 vehicles, 3 cats, 1 dog, 6 fish, and 1 hermit crab. 5 church families, 7 kids (3 boys, 3 girls, 1 ??? - due in August), and multiple ER visits. 34 college semesters, 7 degrees, and 11 majors (ha!). 1 political campaign and 3 years in office. Vacations to Branson, Hawaii, Mexico, both coasts, and the gulf. All the major theme parks from Disneyland to Sea-world, SilverDollarCity and Frontier City. Good times of laughing and sad times of tears. Hard times of disagreement and happy times of joy. Weddings and funerals. Birthdays more than I can count...but if I had to try, I think it’s 87 within our family alone. I love her more today than I did the day I met her. Amber is truly a saint. I say all of this - not to boast (read that again), but to count my blessings, and more importantly today, to reflect...

Funeral:
Ironically, today is also the home-going funeral service of a dear sister in Christ, whom if it wasn’t for her by the grace of God, all of the memories above would be erased, gone, never have happened. Wouldn’t be celebrating an anniversary today. Wouldn’t have 5 of these kids today. Life would be very, very different. Pam knew that. 

Pamela Devitt is a saint. Pam and Terry entered into our lives in 2005. This was about 3 years into our marriage...just as it was spinning wildly out of control into an inevitable disaster of an end. From all likely outcomes, it looked like divorce, heartache, split family, years of picking up the pieces, and trying to start over with less of a foundation than before. Pam was bold enough to step into our lives and not let this happen.

This sister in Christ, this dear saint (along with her husband Terry), pointed Amber and I to scripture, to Christ, helping us understand what marriage was, and more importantly who we were in Him. Our marital foundation before had been built on sand, on the lusts of the world, and on Hollywood projections of marriage. Not upon Christ and his bride, the church. Pam and Terry spent months into years investing in our life. Without God’s grace shining through Pam, I am certain the top paragraph of this post would not exist. She lovingly served Amber and I in a way in which we will never forget and forever be grateful. And she lived in such a way, all the way, to the end. Helping others. Loving others.

Pam is a dear saint and she will be missed tremendously. But our reunion in Heaven will be so wonderful, so joyful, and everlasting. I am certain she is spreading joy and seeing the fruit of her labor here on earth. Well done, good and faithful servant. We love you and Terry and will see you soon. 

With love, in Christ,
Derrick and Amber

Saturday, June 23, 2018

30 Weeks, 3 Days

I went to the dr yesterday. The baby is estimated to weigh 4 lbs, 2 oz. I think I said already that I do not have Gestational Diabetes. The group B Strep test is coming up and hopefully I won’t have that. I did have it last time though. So excited for the countdown. I want it to get here fast but, then again, the kids and I are still pressing on with math and a little other schoolwork. I kind of wish the baby’s arrival was before co-op starts but the due date is a few weeks after co-op has begun. 😧 The pregnancy is starting to get s little more uncomfortable but not bad. Certain positions are painful, the baby feels really heavy in some places sometimes and that can hurt, starting to need some Tums like I usually do nearing the end, and I’ve been making several bathroom trips all day and throughout the night because the baby’s head rests on my bladder. I love getting to experience pregnancy at our new house and neighborhood! The summer has been fun! Sam and I made a vegetable garden with Derrick’s help one weekend! So far we have 🌿 basil, tomatoes 🍅, and peppers 🌶.  I have been making Caprese salad A LOT, which no one else around here cares to eat. The tomatoes and basil could save me a lot of money! Recently I got some cute maternity clothes from Kohl’s. I’m starting to get to the point now where if I buy much more, I will not have time to get much use of them but it is fun wearing them now. We are preparing for our Padre trip and are super excited! 🤗

Saturday, June 16, 2018

Almost 30 Weeks!

I just got the Blogger app installed on my phone and hopefully it will help me to post more! I am getting close! Sometimes it feels far to still have 10-11 weeks left but it is actually flying as the summer ALWAYS does! Such a crazy time to have the baby RIGHT when the school year starts. 😮 We are planning to go to Padre Island 🌴 in a couple of weeks! The kids are super excited. As for the pregnancy, they drew blood the other day and had to go to another arm because they didn’t get it. I hate it when that happens but at least they didn’t have to do it again and dig in where they had already been like a few times in the past (not this pregnancy). I passed my glucose test (I always have) but am slightly anemic. I am 10.9 but should be 11.5. Not bad though. In the past I have been much lower and definitely “felt” it. I didn’t feel it this time. The babe is 3 lbs. Here is a pic: 

If the baby is a boy, he will be Augustine Elijah. If the baby is a girl, Willa Noel (asking Derrick about adding Elizabeth too, not because it’s my middle name but I think it’s pretty and a Bible name). The little boys are so cute, often hugging and kissing the baby. Noah is overjoyed that he will be a big brother! I have another dr appointment and then will be down to weekly appointments.



Friday, April 27, 2018

How to Get A lot Done

I've been watching J House Vlogs on Youtube and enjoying a lot of the labor/delivery and pregnancy videos with my own journey going on now. I also love to watch Dana Schmoyer's channel because she posted a ton of videos on those topics. Jamerill Stewart's channel has also been a good one. Kendra, from J House, said something revolutionary (kind of 😁) about how to get a lot done. Yes, how do you get a lot done?!! Her answer? DO IT! Oh, yes, that is a great answer! 😂 Sometimes I lack motivation and energy. I feel like I need to read a book about how to do it or listen to a podcast on the topic. But- if I just get up and do it, results come quickly!

Another wonderful thing Kendra said is, "I've been thinking a lot about pregnancy and how it is honestly hard for me but it is so completely and infinitely worth it.  Everything in my life that I have done that has been really worth it has been hard. You know if you're going to school, if you're going to college, if you're having children...if you're...you know any of the goals and dreams that I've had that I've worked towards have been hard and so I think that's just the way life is. We have to go through the hard times to get to what's beautiful and worth it and pregnancy's kind of the same as that. So I'm just trying to remember the end goal and stay positive."

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Week 20 ~2nd Trimester~

I had hoped to post before now! It's been rough. It seems the morning sickness lasted until the 16th week this time, rather than the usual 12 weeks. When that magical # hit 12 I was a bit disappointed that it didn't let up but little by little things did get better up to that 16 week mark. I missed a lot of church ( mostly Sunday and Wednesday nights). I also had a couple of really bad sicknesses on top of the morning sickness. I'm actually just now getting over what I think was flu b ( if it wasn't, it may as well have been) and was very sick for a whole week! I was thankful the kids were able to keep on their schoolwork while I was in bed much of the time. Livi couldn't do much without me though and Bella was sick for a lot of those days as well. I fell sick not long after Easter but we all had a wonderful Easter with family. 😊

Today (April 12th) was my special ultrasound that was very detailed. It was hard closing my eyes yet again when the technician took pics of the sex of the baby. It will be so exciting the day of birth though and it's fun playing and guessing now up til that point. Bella and Sam have had fun coming to other ultrasounds (while the others hung out at Gigi's) and we three had to close our eyes last time too! I was surprised because the baby is 13 oz. ( close to a lb already)! It is in the 82nd percentile, so, big! I am still recovering from being sick and came home and took a long nap with Noah. It's actually hard for me to only take a short nap right now which has always been normal for my pregnancies. I am 20 weeks today and officially halfway there! My belly is getting bigger and I'm sure much more noticeable.

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Need to read some of these that she highly recommended...

http://annvoskamp.com/good-reads/

Saturday, April 7, 2018

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/you-can-forget-to-be-irritated

Saturday, March 3, 2018

http://annvoskamp.com/2017/02/the-real-truth-about-romance-boring-men-and-the-women-who-love-them-redefining-boring-romance/

Saturday, February 24, 2018

https://mixandmatchmama.com/2014/03/cherry-pecan-pie/
https://mixandmatchmama.com/2018/02/chicken-greens-pasta-bake/

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/05/24/529527564/doctors-once-thought-bananas-cured-celiac-disease-it-saved-kids-lives-at-a-cost

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/if-god-doesnt-heal-you?utm_content=buffer5eaad&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Monday, February 12, 2018

Saturday, February 10, 2018

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/pepperoni-hopple-popple

Thursday, February 8, 2018

Our Newest Gift from the Lord

I did a lot of complaining of the realities of the first trimester in that last post but now I want to speak of the joy of getting to be pregnant with another blessing! I remember an old beloved pastor of ours that had 8 children and he said our children are the only things we can take to heaven with us! Of course they can't ride on our coat tails or anything and obviously have to have their own faith in the Lord but you know what he meant! 😉 Children are a blessing and a gift from the Lord and I am so very happy to be blessed with another! I am also looking forward to experiencing everything with this baby in our new house (well we've been here two plus years) and in our wonderful neighborhood! I look forward to experiencing going into labor here in this house, coming home here from the hospital with our new baby,  pushing the stroller with baby, pushing the baby in the swing at our park, watching the other kids delight in this baby they have prayed for...
Now- this gift- this was literally a gift we found out we were given on Christmas morning this year! I really didn't know those two lines were really going to appear when I took the test just before going to my sweet in-law's house to celebrate Christmas and after we had unwrapped and celebrated with the kids. My sister-in-law, Mikaela had sent me a message on Dec. 19th saying she had a pregnancy dream and that every time she had a dream like that I was pregnant. By Christmas I was two days late. When I told Derrick a few days before what she said he said, "That's because you're always pregnant." I said, "Oh, yeah..." I told Derrick about the test when we got in the car and headed out. I began with a story. It had been some months back and I remember that I was standing by the coffee pot. I can't remember what triggered the thought exactly but I was thinking in my head, "Wouldn't it be neat if we had a (little girl) named Willa ( Derrick and I liked this name and had it picked out for if Noah had been a girl) and she was born in December and we named her Willa Noel...and I remember Derrick saying before that he liked the name Noel" (because we know how long we can go back and forth with names we both agree on 😂).  And then- Bella was in the kitchen doing something and she ran into the living room (coffee bar) to me and said, " Mom, wouldn't it be cool if we had Willa in December"( and I think she finished the thought with "at Christmas time?!") Now, we've talked about our "hypothetical" "imaginary?" Willa before like when I've seen a pretty baby dress walking through Dillards and tease about how it would look good on "Willa" followed by an "or this would look great on Willy (yeah, no not that name!)" pointing at a boy outfit but it was so crazy that we both had that thought at that moment! I think I just nodded my head and was stunned but just tucked it away. Now here I was on Christmas morning with those two blue lines and couldn't help  help but wonder if  just maybe Willa would be conceived in December? I don't know... I don't want to be too presumptuous but I'm thinking if this baby is a girl, she needs to have the middle name Noel! Derrick and I have already decided that. BUT we would also be thankful to have another boy and have a name for him that Derrick absolutely loves (namely for who he'd be named after)- Augustine. It's exciting and we've also decided not to find out if the baby is a boy or girl until birth! We did this once with Bella and it was so fun! The nurse said, "Isabella ain't a fella!" and that is how we found out! I've just got one more thing to do with the names... Convince Derrick that Elijah would be a perfect middle name for Augustine. I've tried to name a boy that since Bailey (our first) and we've had two boys since. I think I know by now that it'll never be a first name of any of my children so I'd settle if I could get it for a middle! 😉 The due date is August 30th but I'm pretty sure we'll most likely have a September baby since only one of my babies came early (6 days!), 1 on her due date, and the rest late, late, late (well only 5 days at the most but when you're that pregnant, that's a long time😂)!

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

11 Weeks! ~First Trimester Woes~

This is an ultrasound picture at 10 weeks! So cute!!! I was relieved to get to see the baby and hear a strong heartbeat of 173 because I have had a miscarriage at 7 weeks (before Livi, our 4th baby). I am 11 weeks now and so thankful to be heading into the 2nd Trimester soon. It hasn't been easy to be for sure. I always brace myself after I see those two lines for what is quickly to follow: the terrible moodiness, nausea (so thankful this never includes vomiting), the burning, empty stomach, the relentless tiredness, and the food aversions. I can't eat certain things that I regularly love like my sausage or bacon and eggs and coffee with cream and Truvia. Coffee!! I can't drink coffee right now. What?! I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've had that aversion. At first I thought I just couldn't bare to make it but I discovered I couldn't even drink it when Derrick would make it. I also have a heightened sense of smell. I have a lot of fun trying to hit my goal of 10,000 steps on my Fitbit normally but now, on a good day, I only hit 6,000. I've had too many days of sadly hitting between 3,000-4,000! 😯 Normally I like to have the dishes done and wake up to a clean sink every morning but I can't keep up so the sink has stayed full as I fight to tame it. Derrick went out of town and I have been doing easy things and cooking a lot less so I'm almost caught up! The kids do many of the other chores but I tend to like to manage the dishes myself. I have my precious dishes that I don't want to see broken plus the kids use a lot of paper plates. The laundry continues to nip at my heels but the older kids are doing theirs. I just need to get better at making sure they get it put away and, honestly, the girls are dealing with too many and I need to find the energy to go through them and give some away that aren't working/fitting any more.  I've had some rough days but usually start to feel better at 12 weeks. I've actually had a pretty productive day today and felt almost semi-normal so I'm hoping by next week I will feel more like myself and be able to function better. This pregnancy hasn't really seemed harder (I'm getting older) but I have slept a lot more than ever! I think in that respect I've actually had less nausea than I remember experiencing before. So I would say the pregnancy feels "different." It's hard to describe really. 

Just a Regular Grocery Trip

I sent this picture to Derrick and this picture shows about half of the groceries. It's a regular weekly trip to Sam's. However, the second week of groceries is a lighter load. I have joked before that we eat like princes the first week and paupers the second week after payday. I try to balance it to the end but sometimes I'm getting more creative with the meals and pulling from the pantry until payday comes around again.

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

http://kellehampton.com/2010/01/nella-cordelia-birth-story.html?spref=fb