I find it funny that my little "Luke ticker" says my baby is 2 days old today :)
Wow.. I don't remember a thing about labor and delivery and I still have someone inutero kicking me lots and lots!
With both Josh and Matthew I was induced at 41+ weeks. We've all established that my uterus must be equivalent to Club Med. It must offer amazing amenities because no one has ever decided to leave it of their own free will. Rather they are forced out.. red faced and crying.
So next week I will see my doctor on Wednesday. He will assess how best to start the induction process and I'll either go in Wednesday at midnight or Thursday.
I'm feeling totally at peace with everything. I do honestly like the predictability and planned factor of induction. The rest I could live without. All that truly matters is a healthy, happy baby.
Josh will head to the ACCF Kids Camp Monday morning. Crazy to think when he returns he'll most likely have his baby brother to meet for the first time. I'm pretty sure I'll cry when he leaves for his first camp. I am so excited for him and I just know he'll have a blast. It's just hard to believe he's old enough to do things like this now!
We plan to love on Matthew and give him lots of attention while his brother is away. It will be a sweet time to give him our undivided love for his last few days being the youngest in the house.
I will be a new mommy once again, holding my sweet baby within one week. So exciting!!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Luke's nursery and a look back
I must say I LOVE how Luke's nursery turned out. It's almost complete with a few days to spare :) Ah, the plight of the third child. Please tell me we will someday get his baby book finished (and started) and he won't be our least photographed child.
I had the initial concept idea for the stripes and that was about all. I knew also what bedding we were going with. Brett did the rest. He coordinated the colors perfectly, did all the math involved and then all the labor. People love it and we keep hearing now calming of a room it is. My sweet Aunt is making a valance for the window. I also want to get a rug, some various decor items and soon his name will appear above his bed in painted wood letters.
This is big brother Josh's crib. So fun to have it back up again and waiting to be used....
And here is the same room 7 years ago. This was SUCH a fun room to do as well. I love the baseball bears theme and the great bi plane with Josh's full name written on the banner.
And last but not least is what Matthew's nursery looked like. Josh was under 2 when his baby brother was born. He also was REALLY into all things firetruck so that's where the theme idea originated. Brett made me leave the room while he attempted his first ever mural. I had no clue my husband was so artsy :)
The boys share this room now so there are bunk beds where the crib once was. They also are past the firetruck phase. Their vision now? A Star Wars room. My first reaction was no. I mean how long could this love of Star Wars really last? Then I lovingly remembered their Daddy who would probably be super stoked if I suggested a Star Wars theme in our bedroom :)
I had the initial concept idea for the stripes and that was about all. I knew also what bedding we were going with. Brett did the rest. He coordinated the colors perfectly, did all the math involved and then all the labor. People love it and we keep hearing now calming of a room it is. My sweet Aunt is making a valance for the window. I also want to get a rug, some various decor items and soon his name will appear above his bed in painted wood letters.
This is big brother Josh's crib. So fun to have it back up again and waiting to be used....
And here is the same room 7 years ago. This was SUCH a fun room to do as well. I love the baseball bears theme and the great bi plane with Josh's full name written on the banner.
And last but not least is what Matthew's nursery looked like. Josh was under 2 when his baby brother was born. He also was REALLY into all things firetruck so that's where the theme idea originated. Brett made me leave the room while he attempted his first ever mural. I had no clue my husband was so artsy :)
The boys share this room now so there are bunk beds where the crib once was. They also are past the firetruck phase. Their vision now? A Star Wars room. My first reaction was no. I mean how long could this love of Star Wars really last? Then I lovingly remembered their Daddy who would probably be super stoked if I suggested a Star Wars theme in our bedroom :)
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Ask.com and ye shall receive?
Brett's partnership with Ask.com has officially begun. After 8 months of unemployment, lots of prayer, numerous lessons learned and truly the Lord's faithful provision, Virtus Designs, LLC. http://www.virtusdesigns.net has been launched. Virtus Designs began its roots back in March of 2008. Brett and I were going through a season of real spiritual growth and the verses found in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 were used continually. (5)...."that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."
The word power translated in latin is Virtus.
The Lord clearly called Brett out of teaching and into GUI design approximately one year ago. He started tinkering with Firefox themes as a hobby almost three years ago. Totally self taught and financially uncompensated. When Brett became the most popular FF theme developer in the world with a current 2.5 million daily users and over 23 million downloads, people took notice. Flock.com hired him, then five short months later due to the economic downturn, laid him off. One week to the day later we found out we were expecting our third baby. No income... no insurance... little savings. And truly we knew it would be fine. We did not know how.
I love the quote that we know not what the future holds but we know WHO holds it. What we did know is the Lord has taken care of us for all of our 32 years of life and 10 years of marriage. He has proven Himself faithful to us ALWAYS even when we have not in return. It's simply His amazing GRACE.
Have we had our moments of doubt and fear? Did I cry when I went to sign up for various programs I thought for sure would never apply to me? Have I burst into tears on several occasions over silly things like having exactly two pair of maternity pants to choose from? YES. Have I then been gently reminded of the many people around the planet who would love to live in a home, drive a car, have the luxury to be on government programs that provide healthy food and excellent prenatal care? Humbly, yes.
And in the midst of one of my "tantrums" what did I see my husband do? Head upstairs with his guitar in tow and worship the Lord, read his bible, pray in our closet, fast...
Would Brett say he's done everything perfectly? No. But I will say I have never been more impressed with him, never more proud of him and never more thankful for him than I have been these last 8 months. I say it all the time but I seriously deserve in no way to be married to this incredible man. He is a constant example and reminder to me that I in no way deserve to be saved by Grace and loved by Jesus. I simply am.
In March, during a time of prayer and fasting, Brett got a random email from Ask.com. They were one of the companies to take notice of his FF accomplishment. They wanted to discuss a partnership. If Brett would simply bundle his FF themes with Ask.com as the default search engine they would share a percentage of the search revenue generated.
Of course Brett's users would absolutely and easily be able to switch back to their search engine of choice. The hope is that at least a small percentage of them would use Ask either out of loyalty and support for Brett, because they honestly don't have a preference or because they may already be an Ask.com user.
Financial forecasts were of course run. They are simply forecasts. They are completely variable and totally based on statistics and best guesses. Honestly and prayerfully Brett and I felt this was an answer from the Lord and to simply trust Him. Once again, ... do not put your faith in the wisdom of men but in the Power of God. Another verse the Lord showed us was Ephesians 3:20-21 ...Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us (21)to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Between the legal department and contract generation and the actual engineering, it has taken 4 months for this day to come. We were initially told it would take a couple of weeks.
So here we sit, 17 days away from the date our precious son Luke is estimated to be born. We literally are at the end of our financial rope for sure. It's truly nothing but the faithfulness of the Lord that is holding our family together. Truly that's always the case with each one of us.. we just don't always recognize it. Honestly I can say I'm thankful for the reminder.
And so I ask our friends and family... please help :) First of all you can stand with us in prayer as so many of you faithfully have and do. You can also go to Brett's website http://www.virtusdesigns.net which will show you how to download free of charge one of Brett's exclusive Firefox themes. In the right hand corner of his themes, you'll find a handy dandy search window built right into the tool bar. Use it like you use Google. That's it. It costs no one a single cent. Because Brett is attempting to make Virtus designs his full time job, he also does custom Wordpress and Blogger themes, small websites and custom designed FF browsers. Finally, please spread the word.
We are excited to see what the Lord has in store for Virtus Designs, LLC. It is a company founded on the power of God, to be used for His perfect plan and purpose and to Him may all the Glory be given.
The word power translated in latin is Virtus.
The Lord clearly called Brett out of teaching and into GUI design approximately one year ago. He started tinkering with Firefox themes as a hobby almost three years ago. Totally self taught and financially uncompensated. When Brett became the most popular FF theme developer in the world with a current 2.5 million daily users and over 23 million downloads, people took notice. Flock.com hired him, then five short months later due to the economic downturn, laid him off. One week to the day later we found out we were expecting our third baby. No income... no insurance... little savings. And truly we knew it would be fine. We did not know how.
I love the quote that we know not what the future holds but we know WHO holds it. What we did know is the Lord has taken care of us for all of our 32 years of life and 10 years of marriage. He has proven Himself faithful to us ALWAYS even when we have not in return. It's simply His amazing GRACE.
Have we had our moments of doubt and fear? Did I cry when I went to sign up for various programs I thought for sure would never apply to me? Have I burst into tears on several occasions over silly things like having exactly two pair of maternity pants to choose from? YES. Have I then been gently reminded of the many people around the planet who would love to live in a home, drive a car, have the luxury to be on government programs that provide healthy food and excellent prenatal care? Humbly, yes.
And in the midst of one of my "tantrums" what did I see my husband do? Head upstairs with his guitar in tow and worship the Lord, read his bible, pray in our closet, fast...
Would Brett say he's done everything perfectly? No. But I will say I have never been more impressed with him, never more proud of him and never more thankful for him than I have been these last 8 months. I say it all the time but I seriously deserve in no way to be married to this incredible man. He is a constant example and reminder to me that I in no way deserve to be saved by Grace and loved by Jesus. I simply am.
In March, during a time of prayer and fasting, Brett got a random email from Ask.com. They were one of the companies to take notice of his FF accomplishment. They wanted to discuss a partnership. If Brett would simply bundle his FF themes with Ask.com as the default search engine they would share a percentage of the search revenue generated.
Of course Brett's users would absolutely and easily be able to switch back to their search engine of choice. The hope is that at least a small percentage of them would use Ask either out of loyalty and support for Brett, because they honestly don't have a preference or because they may already be an Ask.com user.
Financial forecasts were of course run. They are simply forecasts. They are completely variable and totally based on statistics and best guesses. Honestly and prayerfully Brett and I felt this was an answer from the Lord and to simply trust Him. Once again, ... do not put your faith in the wisdom of men but in the Power of God. Another verse the Lord showed us was Ephesians 3:20-21 ...Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us (21)to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Between the legal department and contract generation and the actual engineering, it has taken 4 months for this day to come. We were initially told it would take a couple of weeks.
So here we sit, 17 days away from the date our precious son Luke is estimated to be born. We literally are at the end of our financial rope for sure. It's truly nothing but the faithfulness of the Lord that is holding our family together. Truly that's always the case with each one of us.. we just don't always recognize it. Honestly I can say I'm thankful for the reminder.
And so I ask our friends and family... please help :) First of all you can stand with us in prayer as so many of you faithfully have and do. You can also go to Brett's website http://www.virtusdesigns.net which will show you how to download free of charge one of Brett's exclusive Firefox themes. In the right hand corner of his themes, you'll find a handy dandy search window built right into the tool bar. Use it like you use Google. That's it. It costs no one a single cent. Because Brett is attempting to make Virtus designs his full time job, he also does custom Wordpress and Blogger themes, small websites and custom designed FF browsers. Finally, please spread the word.
We are excited to see what the Lord has in store for Virtus Designs, LLC. It is a company founded on the power of God, to be used for His perfect plan and purpose and to Him may all the Glory be given.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Head Down
As of yesterday Luke is head down! All of the talks his Daddy has given him lately are working. Now if he just remains obedient :)
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Kindergarten Graduation
(Click on collage to see bigger image)
Joshua Michael graduated from kindergarten at Archer Glen Elementary this past Wednesday. Expectantly, I did indeed shed an embarrassing amount of tears. Fortunately so did Mrs. Patterson (his teacher) who was thankful she wasn't the only one :)
I am SO proud of what Josh accomplished his first year of school! Besides the foundation of reading, writing and arithmetic, watching Josh's confidence grow along with his sweet and caring heart has been his greatest accomplishment.
I went into the school year with so many doubts about the decision to send him to public school. We researched and prayed over all of our schooling options before Brett and I felt led to try AG Elementary. We knew we could always change our minds and course if necessary. It was SO incredibly awesome to watch the Lord's perfect covering unfold. Most importantly He blessed Josh with a Christian kindergarten teacher. Mrs. Patterson was a gift to him and to us in many ways. It was a great reminder that the Lord really does go before us in all things and works out ALL of the details.
Brett and I both loved helping out in the classroom and attending every field trip and special event this year. You know things are going well when your child has a big smile when you walk him to his classroom and pick him up each day. Josh made great friendships along the way and was always the first to take new students under his wing :) It is truly bittersweet as a mom to watch your kiddos grow up faster than you could have ever thought possible. All the cliches about time going so quickly are very true. So with a tear or two I'm saying goodbye to my sweet little kindergartner, but excitedly looking ahead at my new first grader.
I am SO proud of what Josh accomplished his first year of school! Besides the foundation of reading, writing and arithmetic, watching Josh's confidence grow along with his sweet and caring heart has been his greatest accomplishment.
I went into the school year with so many doubts about the decision to send him to public school. We researched and prayed over all of our schooling options before Brett and I felt led to try AG Elementary. We knew we could always change our minds and course if necessary. It was SO incredibly awesome to watch the Lord's perfect covering unfold. Most importantly He blessed Josh with a Christian kindergarten teacher. Mrs. Patterson was a gift to him and to us in many ways. It was a great reminder that the Lord really does go before us in all things and works out ALL of the details.
Brett and I both loved helping out in the classroom and attending every field trip and special event this year. You know things are going well when your child has a big smile when you walk him to his classroom and pick him up each day. Josh made great friendships along the way and was always the first to take new students under his wing :) It is truly bittersweet as a mom to watch your kiddos grow up faster than you could have ever thought possible. All the cliches about time going so quickly are very true. So with a tear or two I'm saying goodbye to my sweet little kindergartner, but excitedly looking ahead at my new first grader.
Thank you Lord for blessing us with Joshua. Father, he is indeed such a gift with a beautiful, sweet and tender heart for You and for others. For this next coming school year I pray above all that he would grow in his knowledge of You. I pray he would continue to bless others with the gifts that you have uniquely given him. I pray that he would be bold in his faith no matter his surroundings. Lord, use him for your perfect purpose and plan for his life and no matter what that plan looks like, may it bring You all the glory. In Jesus' name... Amen.
Just for fun, click here to take a look back at Josh's graduation from preschool. Fun to compare and see how much he's grown!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Updates
Just a couple of quick updates....
First of all, thanks so much for the votes and input on our name decision! It's amazing how much thought people really put into reasons for/against names (ourselves included).
We have decided that we're not going with Jacob. We've always struggled with the meaning. Some people don't care a bit about meanings... we do :) We love the meanings of Joshua (Jehovah saves) Michael (one who is like Jehovah) and Matthew (gift from God) Bryan (noble).
Luke means bearer of light and we are both really liking the name. We agreed that Luke Caleb didn't flow well with the k/c sounds going on. So... all of that to say we both think Ryan is a great name and flows well with Luke so we are *pretty* certain this little boy will be Luke Ryan. I must say that this is the first of our kiddos that we've struggled a bit with naming. Give us 12 girls however and we could happily name them all in perfect harmony :)
Second update... I had my ultrasound to get an estimated size because of the measuring big factor. I am very happy to report that this little guy measured totally average at this point (4lbs. 15ozs - 55th percentile). Ultrasounds of course can be off but thankfully even in the last couple of years the technology has improved and their margin of error is now about 10-15%.
So the measuring big is for two reasons. First of all I have excess amniotic fluid. Not enough to cause major concern. The second factor is that at 33 weeks this baby is still in his favorite position... transverse. That means that he's laying cross ways... head on my right side, bum on my left to be exact. It's not at all too late for him to assume the proper head down position so I'm not too worried. Transverse is the least common position by time of delivery... 1 in 2500 babies. Of course if he stayed that way it makes a cesarean a certainty. We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it. In the meantime I am reading all kinds of fun ways to turn a baby :) Some are quite funny!
Thanks so much for all your prayers, input and comments!
First of all, thanks so much for the votes and input on our name decision! It's amazing how much thought people really put into reasons for/against names (ourselves included).
We have decided that we're not going with Jacob. We've always struggled with the meaning. Some people don't care a bit about meanings... we do :) We love the meanings of Joshua (Jehovah saves) Michael (one who is like Jehovah) and Matthew (gift from God) Bryan (noble).
Luke means bearer of light and we are both really liking the name. We agreed that Luke Caleb didn't flow well with the k/c sounds going on. So... all of that to say we both think Ryan is a great name and flows well with Luke so we are *pretty* certain this little boy will be Luke Ryan. I must say that this is the first of our kiddos that we've struggled a bit with naming. Give us 12 girls however and we could happily name them all in perfect harmony :)
Second update... I had my ultrasound to get an estimated size because of the measuring big factor. I am very happy to report that this little guy measured totally average at this point (4lbs. 15ozs - 55th percentile). Ultrasounds of course can be off but thankfully even in the last couple of years the technology has improved and their margin of error is now about 10-15%.
So the measuring big is for two reasons. First of all I have excess amniotic fluid. Not enough to cause major concern. The second factor is that at 33 weeks this baby is still in his favorite position... transverse. That means that he's laying cross ways... head on my right side, bum on my left to be exact. It's not at all too late for him to assume the proper head down position so I'm not too worried. Transverse is the least common position by time of delivery... 1 in 2500 babies. Of course if he stayed that way it makes a cesarean a certainty. We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it. In the meantime I am reading all kinds of fun ways to turn a baby :) Some are quite funny!
Thanks so much for all your prayers, input and comments!
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