Sinus Cleanse

Okay~ So wierd thing, Sunday evening all of the sudden out of nowhere my sinuses just totally plugged up. It made for a rough night of sleep and I woke up with a sore throat and still the sinus congestion. I was hoping it would pass as quickly as it came on so I was trying to stick it out without medication. I did however give in and took sudafed twice yesterday and it didn't help at all! Then came flooding back (no pun intended) the Oprah episode where Dr. Oz was talking about the Netti Pot. It is a little watering can looking thing that you fill with warm salt water, pour it into one nostril and the water and whatever else the water flushes out comes out of the other nostril. Oprah had a random audience member try it live, and she lived through it! I had anticipated lots of choking and gagging and sputtering. Since the show aired, Walgreens and CVS pharmacies have been advertising that they are carrying this product. So after my chiropractor appointment this morning, off to Walgreens we went.
Well, I have now successfully flushed my sinuses and I must say I noticed an immediate difference! While it was a little akward at first, it was not uncomfortable! So for the moment, I am recommending it! I will give another update tomorrow after seeing how it helps with nighttime congestion! Here is a link to Oprah's website, with a picture of the audience member using the netti pot... http://www.oprah.com/health/oz/oz_20070426_350_106.jhtml

The Power of Dad

Brian went to hit some golf balls at the driving range tonight. Before he left he told the kids, mom is going to put you to bed, if you are still up talking and playing when I get home, there is going to be trouble! So I put them to bed, reminded them of the impending troubles promised if they were not quiet when dad got home, they said they remembered and that they would be quiet. Down stairs I could hear them playing, actually quite vigorously, but thought I would let them learn their lesson, so left them be. Funny thing though...I heard Brian come in the back door, and coincidently I never heard another peep out of the kids room. I am figuring they were keeping watch out their window which looks out to the garage. Well at least they avoided "trouble". So I go to check on them before I go to bed and this is what I found....

This picture actually doesn't do justice to the scene...but literally all of the toys that stay on the floor, not stored in the toy boxes, were all piled high on top of eachother in front of Kelli's bed. Quite the busy beavers they were! While they slept, I quietly put everything back in it's place, and am anxious to ask them about their nighttime activities in the morning! Here is another picture that I thought was priceless! Makes me relax just looking at it!

My Babies

As the arrival of baby #3 approaches I find myself gazing at Andrew and Kelli thanking God for two such precious children. My eyes well with tears as I write this! Certainly some pregnancy hormones involved, but my heart truly overflows with love like I never imagined possible for these two. I think of how life has changed with the addition of each one and can remember when Kelli's arrival was nearing, I so worried I wouldn't be able to love another baby as much as I loved Andrew. But like my Aunt Lori told me, your capacity to love expands with each child. And I immediately found that to be truth as Kelli was placed in my arms.

I look at Andrew and am amazed at how he has grown. Both physically and his personality. He is so curious and has common sense alot of adults I know don't have. He has such a sweet heart and is so eager to please those he loves. His spirit is soft and teachable and he has shown himself to be such a caring helper as he sees me struggle with the physical challanges of the end stages of pregnancy. He opens the car door, he brings me my shoes when he knows we are ready to leave, he helps get Kelli dressed in the mornings and helps her get buckled in her car seat. And all of this without being asked. And have you seen his freckles? I could eat him up! He also has a great sense of adventure. Loves to ride his bike and try new jumps. His new favorite pasttime is chasing and trying to capture butterflies. He also has been riding a dirt bike and recently got the training wheels off. He crashed into the fence when he was showing me his new skills. He stood up and brushed himself off, and proclaimed "I'm Okay!" as I stood there bawling! Oh the things I am going to have to get used to being the mom of a boy!

And Kelli, sweet Kelli. She has been giving me a taste of my own medicine. At least that is what Brian says. Oh the drama! But the smile and the joy that this girl posseses melts my heart. Life is in her eyes. She is so excited to learn new things and is always following "brother" around. That is what she affectionately calls Andrew. "Brother, will you take me on a bug hunt?" "Brother, come on lets read this book." "I love you, brother." She is excited to share her old room with the new baby and to feed her doll while mom is feeding the new baby. "As soon as that baby comes, I am going to be a big sister!" I know she will be such a big helper!

I will go to bed shortly and before doing so, I will check on them, and every night, no matter what the day has been like, when I kiss their sleeping faces my heart is overwhelmed with love for these two little one's.

Thank you God for the blessings everyday of being a mother. Help me not to miss the treasures.

My heart beats outside my chest...

Neat Update from the Whitfields

So in my "tagged" post, I shared a little about my best friend in the whole world who lives in Africa. I just recieved her families update letter and thought I would share part of it with you! Movety is their guard and his family lives in a small house on their property. This is a letter that Movety wrote...

"I lost my job as a contracted guard because my services were no longer needed. I had no courage to face the problem that my family would encounter. All hope was gone. I could see the plates drying up. I could see a disease attacking my family, chill went through my body and fear gripped me as a sign of defeat. I saw my project coming to an end (building a 6m by 4m room enough for my family). The room was barely on roof level by the time I lost my job. Within my soul, body and mind I turned 360 degrees each day to find a way leading to a solution, be it temporal or permanent, who knows. I find not even a close. I thought of a place where I would take my family where they would not be eviceted by cruel landlords. All I could see was darkness. I prayed...prayed to God Almighty. God flashed a bright light into my life, the light that gave back lost hope to me and my family. I saw showers of food on our plate each day, resurrecting my dying project. I saw my family receiving good medication. I thanked God for thes Light...The brighest light in my life that flashed by God in the month of February 2007 is the coming of the Whitfields. They humbled themselves to come and mix with the less privileged people oin Zambia, Africa. They have gone deep to the grass roots level to see and share the problems those people are facing. They have seen and identified the real problems those people have. Among the people with problems I stand as an example of them touched by the Whitfields' helping hand. When they saw my problems they took them to be theirs and got deeply physically involved. My hope was back when they said they had come for people like me. A month with them they have kept their promises of providing a meal each day and in times of sickness a provision of good medication to my family. A week old in Zambia they saw the need of shelter for me. They helped to finish building my house and bought the roofing sheet. Mr. Luke Whitfield himself fixed the roof of my house. This commitment cannot go without praise. Such people deserve to live longer on this planet earth, to touch even more people those who have real problems. I therfore pray to God Almighty to grant them more time to contiune their good mission. ~Movety Nyrenda Touched Fellow"

Hearing stories like this takes the sting out of her physical absence in my day to day life...Praise God for their ministry to these people!

Sorry it took so long

Well here are a few belly shots! I have been playing with my new software, and just requested the Photoshop Elements for Dummies book from the library!!! I will get some with Kelli and some with the whole family sometime hopefully. Kelli had a major breakdown so I sent her to bed and Brian was at work...but I wanted to get a few on for ya!

I've Been Tagged

Well I was tagged by my roommate my freshman year of college at the back door blog. this means i need to share 8 things about me and/or my family you don't know. so here goes nothing....
1. My parents met in jail
2. I am the oldest of 5 girls and we all have the same profession
3. I know how to keep the score book at a baseball/softball game (watch for a great softball post coming soon!
4. My hubby and I are "acting our wage" and working diligently towards becoming debt free!!
5. We own and manage a 17 unit apartment building. It is a huge thorn in the flesh, but we have several international students living there now and it is fun to get a little taste of several different cultures
6. I have an irrational fear of insects with stingers...bee's, wasps, hornets, even bumble bees (I have heard that they don't sting, but I am not taking my chances!!)
7. I used to have no fear (with the exception of insects with stingers)~I would downhill ski with reckless abandon, I would climb to the highest heights (my sister Nikki and I were two of the youngest people to reach the peak of Horn Peak in Colorado. I would try anything! Now that I am a mother, (I think that is the explanation for it) I am a big fat chicken! As evidenced by... #1. When Brian took me skiing when Andrew was about a year and a half old, I cried like a baby, and wouldn't stop "snowplowing" the entire day! That was a low point in our marriage! =) #2. Now I won't climb a ladder, not because heights scares me, but having to come back down the ladder terrifies me! #3. Okay, I can't think of another example, but I am sure Brian could! I don't know why but my computer is not letting me put #8 on a new line so I am just going to keep typing until it is on a new line____ 8. My best friend in the whole world lives in Lusaka, Zambia and is pregnant with her 4th baby! I met her when I was her nurse with her 2nd baby, Emma Jean, who was born on my birthday. I knew her mother in law from church, but didn't know Elise until that day...shortly thereafter she started coming to our church and from there we were connected at the hip until she and her hubby, and 3 kids moved to Africa to be missionaries. They will not return home until February of 2009!! It has been quite an adjustment! Okay, same scenario here, wont let me move to a new line so now I have to choose someone to tag....So Wendy, Tag your it!! Check out Wendy's Blog Sweet Sorem Six (you can find her link and the link for the back door) in my favorites!

"I'm Assuming..."

I had a routine OB appointment yesterday. Took the kids with me cause I wasn't expecting it to take more than 5 minutes...pee in a cup, weight, blood pressure, heartbeat, measure the every growing belly and we will see you in two weeks. I mentioned to the doctor that I had been having some Braxton Hicks Contractions this past week, but otherwise everything was status quo. With my history of preterm labor with the other pregnancies the doc decided that since I am 34 1/2 weeks, he could do a routine test and at the same time check the cervix to make sure there wasn't anything going on. He asked if I wanted the kids to go out to the nurses station or if they were okay to stay in the room for the exam. Knowing the kids, I knew going out to the nurses station would be much more tramatic than just coming up to the head of the exam table and a little explanation of what was going to happen. So the doctor left and as I undressed we had the following conversation...

Me: Okay guys, remember that book we read about the mommy who had a house in her tummy and a baby lived in it? (Keep in mind that I was an OB nurse for 10 years, so as we read this silly book, I of course told them all about uterus and they after watching many episodes of The Baby Story on TLC know very well how the baby comes out)

Kids: Yeah mom, we remember

Me: Okay well that house has a door and that is how the baby will get out. The doctor is going to check that door to see if it is opening. When he comes back in, you both will come stand up here by my head and then we will be done and go home.

Andrew (and this is a direct quote): "uh, I am assuming the door is in your bottom..."

Me: Yes Andrew, that is where the door is.

Kelli: There is a door in your bottom?

Me: Yep, there is something at the bottom of that "house" that is like a door that has to open before the baby can come out. The doctor is also going to do a test with a big q-tip to make sure there is no germs that could make the baby sick.

Doctor enters....Kids rush to the head of the exam table and anxiously await to see if the door is opening...

baby is low, cervix is thin and dilated to 1...not to extreme, but because I am only 34 weeks he wants me to lie low for a week and a half to get to 36 weeks.

Doc leaves...I get up to get dressed...

Andrew: Is the door opening?

Me: A little bit, but not enough for the baby to come out yet. Mom just needs to take it easy for a week so it doesn't open any more and then after that the baby will be big enough that it is okay if the door opens so the baby can come out!

Kelli: Do you still have a q-tip in your bottom?

Me: No baby, it is just like when I clean your ears, you throw it away when your done with it

Kelli: Oh, good!

And off we go

I learned from a seasoned mom that I lived with for a short time, that when kids ask questions give them a direct, breif answer and that most times they will be satisfied. I love how little minds work!

One Of My Favorite Things

I have had this collage in my mind for our dining room wall for years! About 6 months ago, when strolling through Target I found these frames on clearance (6 frames in a set, each set marked down to $7.99!!! Can you believe it!!) We got the frames arranged and hung right away, buy choosing the right pictures took me forever! We had all of Brian's cousins over for a cookout the last weekend of June and you know how it goes when company is coming....there is this urgency to get projects done that have been on the back burner. Brian calls this getting our "fake house" ready. I think there is an Everybody Loves Raymond episode about it too! So I got it done, and I am in love! My seat at our dining room table faces this wall, and I sit and eat my meals drooling over my precious children! It is exactly what I envisioned, and I love it when that happens, which isn't very often!!! And to think that it cost less than $50 makes it even more enjoyable!!

New Link Added

Just added another link to favorites/photography inspration... www.nmbphotography.com is the site for a lady who has been photographing my sisters and their families. If you follow the link to her website and go to galleries then babies, scroll to the second page the last picture is Eden, Chris and Heidi's sweetheart. Then go to the relationships gallery and The 2 pictures before the last one are Chris and Eden and then the three of them!

Family

I needed to get an updated family picture for a project my sister is working on so after church today I set up the tripod in the back yard and despite the 93 degree temps and crazy humidity managed to get this great shot!! I was so pleased! I know some of you are noticing I strategically placed my enormous belly behind everyone! What can I say...I promise I will have a belly shot up by the end of the week!