Friday night fun run

Dave and the boys participated in a fun run last night that our favorite, local running store hosted. It was held on the grounds of the Kansas History Museum, so the kids got to run through the woods on trails. And it was gorgeous spring weather - made for a wonderful night!

Ethan was signed up for the 1/4 mile race, and Simon was determined to run too...so Dave ran with them.

I was so proud of my boys!

Medals for all finishers!

Ethan had so much fun that he decided to run in the half mile race too. From what I heard, he and Cam were pretty competitive - she really wanted to beat him, but his legs are like twice as long as hers. So you know how hard she had to work to stay this close to him!

Simon insisted on running the half mile race too! (This event was supposed to be for kindergartners through 6th grade...not 3 year olds!)

He finished though!

And of course Ethan had to run the mile race too - no hesitation! Here he comes!

Finishing strong!

It looked like a blast, and I was wishing I could have been out there with them. A month ago, I would have been, but my feet are starting to swell and even walking is pretty painful right now. So pathetic.

Come, baby, come!

Count down

17 days to go, my ticker says. I find myself alternating between being anxious to see things get going and secretly hoping that I have awhile yet. I know what I'm getting into, after all!

We are staying busy and enjoying these last carefree days before baby arrives (and rocks our world a bit :). Cousin time. Play dates. Walks to the park up the road. Playing in the sprinkler since the weather has been so nice. We are having a good time, if you can't tell!













I had fully intended to have Simon potty-trained by now, but having friends live with us put that temporarily on hold. And he wasn't AT ALL interested either, so I knew it was going to be a challenge. So wouldn't you know that he is interested all of a sudden, right when I am a few weeks from due??!!! I just shake my head at this kid...

This morning he woke up dry, went potty, and stayed dry all morning! Wore Lightning McQueen underwear for several hours, in fact. Then he just totally lost interest for the rest of the day. And since this wasn't my idea (I don't really WANT to potty train right now!), I don't really care. I just let him put diapers back on. Am I a crazy mom, or what????!

So this is my life right now - stuck in limbo until this little one decides to make an appearance. :)

Baby shower

I'm almost term! On Sunday I will hit 37 weeks, and I cannot put into words how ready I am! Even though there is plenty of things to do to keep me busy, I am longing for the day when I can just stop all the doing, and just hold my sweet daughter.

Last Saturday my sweet friends threw me a baby shower on my sister-in-law Kim's back porch. It was a perfect setting - and almost perfect weather!

The food was amazing - chicken salad sandwiches, shrimp, marinated cheese cubes, chicken pasta with roasted red peppers, fruit salad, and more...

and the champagne cakes were to die for!

Shawna, Alex, Jessie and Lynn

Penny, Ashlee, Doris

Yes, it was Shawna and Lydia who threw the shower.....how did you guess?????!! :)

I received so many beautiful things - it was so fun to open each gift and imagine a little girl wearing all that stuff!

Jessie shared the sweetest devotion about how God sees and knows this little one I'm carrying - and that He designed her for a purpose. So incredible to think about!

She reminded me that when we studied the names of God this past year in Bible study, El Roi, the God Who Sees, was my favorite one. It meant so much to me at the time, because of certain things I was going through, to be able to cling to that characteristic of the Lord, that He sees and knows everything that is going on in my life.

Just like Hagar recognized that about Him - she had been treated unfairly by Abraham and Sarah, now she had a child and the circumstances looked bleak, and she found herself running away. But the Lord pursued her and promised to bless her. Her part was to simply obey.

He knew. He knew all the trials and hardships she had faced and would face. He was actively watching out for her, and she could trust Him because of that.

I love this about the Lord! My El Roi watches me too - and the little ones entrusted to me and Dave.

My part is just to obey Him...and to leave the circumstances up to Him.

There are plenty of difficulties in parenting (some that I don't even know about yet!), but when we rest in knowing that the Lord is watching out for our children - (that He cares more deeply for them than we even do!) - we can just enjoy them for the gifts that they really are!

How precious to be given another gift - a daughter to raise!

me with Lydia & Shawna

Reagan & me...I win!

me and Shawna

Belly shot!

The shower was such a fun time - I enjoyed every bit of it!

Thanks to everyone who helped with the preparations. I have some very sweet friends, don't I????!

Nesting

Sonja got me motivated to break out my sewing machine this week, and it was just the push I needed to get started on my list. You know, my list of things to do before the baby comes.... yeah, it's a long one. :) It feels so good to have made some headway on some projects so far this week!

We got a coat of paint on the baby room walls last night - it's Ralph Lauren's Verona Pink from their vintage masters collection. And today I sprayed a coat of white on the crib and guest bed headboard. Remarkable how dirty and dinged up a crib can get between children!

My end of the sewing projects are almost done (a lady on etsy.com is making most of the bedding and Sonja is making a quilt out of the same fabrics). Here's my stack of burp clothes and some throw pillows for the guest bed to match the crib bedding. So fun!







Ruth, I made you some burp clothes too! I'll try to get them in the mail this week.




Of course, all of this is going on amidst leaking washer valves, huge plumber bills, basement carpet pad removal (just a little bit, thankfully!), the NCAA tournament games, a weekend away with my hubby, and just about a zillion other things.

Life is moving fast right now!

A day at home can be a good thing

My kitchen window makes me smile. Simon picked every daffodil in bloom in the backyard for me - but I couldn't even be the slightest bit annoyed. He was so sweet and charming when he brought them in to me. Such a tenderhearted little man!

I was running a low-grade temp last night and just feeling kind of icky, so we stayed in today. I was bummed, because our MOPS meeting was this morning - and I love going. But Dave and I have a get-away weekend planned, so rest is essential. I don't want to miss this opportunity to spend time with my husband all alone...and maybe decide on a baby name too!

It turns out that a day of rest is what we all needed, I guess. By the end of yesterday I was ready to pull my hair out because of these wild banshees that I am apparently responsible for. :) I was frustrated, to say the least. Some days its like the noise level in this house gets way past what any sane person could tolerate...and other days, like today, well, sweet peace reigns.

Don't ask me what the difference is...I have no idea!

At lunchtime while we sat at the table together, I got out a couple books to read to them. One, Leading Little Ones to God, we bought on recommendation from a blog writer I love, and the other, A Child's First Book of Virtues, was given to us by our friend Barb V. The boys adore these books!


I must not read to them often enough, because they were so excited when I pulled them out. Ethan said, "Mom! This is just as good as watching a movie with popcorn! We get to listen to you read while we eat our yummy lunch!"

That kid never lacks enthusiasm, I'll say that much! :)

In the second book, we read several stories about the virtue of honesty. Always a good subject with preschool boys. Haha.

When I asked Ethan if he knew what the word honesty meant, he said, "yeah, it's like telling the truth, right?"

He thought for a moment and then sheepishly grinned up at me, "Remember when I used to get out chocolate chips without telling you and then I lied about it? That wasn't honesty."

Guess that made an impression on him! That was probably 6 months ago!