Mother's Morning Out

All four of my children have been attending Mother's Morning Out two days a weeks for the last two weeks. It is a five week program that a church near by puts on. It has been very strange to drop them off and have four hours to myself. All of them have attended a similar program before, but it has been two years since I have had everyone in one at the same time.

The first day, I kind of wandered around aimlessly, taking care of a few errands and walking around the mall. The second day, I tried to organize my time a little better to get more done. I even went to the library by myself. It was very strange to browse for books by myself. I am used to the run in and grab strategy of choosing books.

Today, I came home and worked on cleaning house for about an hour and a half and then had lunch out as a reward! Bailey asked me this afternoon if it was fun to drop them off and have time by myself. I responded very truthfully that it is nice to have a little time away, but I am very glad to see them when I pick them up!

Seeing Blue!

I had my twenty week ultrasound, and our little one looked very healthy! It was such a blessing to see the heart, brain and spine looking so perfectly formed. It is amazing how God knits babies together in their mothers' wombs!

The children (especially Isaac) had been hoping for a baby boy, and it looks very much like they will get their wish! The ultrasound technician was able to get a good picture to confirm that we will have lots of blue around our house!

I am now a little over half way through this pregnancy. The time seems to be speeding by! We are all looking forward to meeting our little man!

Sadness

I often forget how fleeting our life here on earth really is. We received a sad reminder last night. Mark got a phone call that one of his good friends from college, Darren, was killed in a car accident yesterday afternoon.

We had been getting reacquainted with Darren and his wife Kelly since we moved to Alabama, and had been looking forward to spending lots of time with them. Kelly has really been a blessing to me during our six months here in our new home. Her friendship has meant so much to me during a time when I really needed a friend! I went to see her last night, and it truly made my heart hurt to see her grieving. I wish that I could somehow lessen her pain.

Please pray for my sweet friend Kelly and her precious boys Ben and James, as well as all of their friends and family. Darren will be greatly missed.

Our Brave Cowboy

Isaac's real feelings about the recital (notice the eye rolling!)

What a brave boy!

Isaac has been taking music classes the past two years, and he participated in his first recital last weekend. To say that he was less than thrilled would be a huge understatement. The thought of getting up in front of a lot of people made him nervous. The teacher then announced that everyone would wear a bandanna and cowboy hat, and his eye rolling intensified. A week later, the class made up a dance that the students and "partners" (mothers) would perform on stage. That sent him over the edge (it just about pushed me over the edge also!). He looked at me in class and said, "I am NOT doing that!" It took a lot of encouragement, prayers and bribery to get him to agree to participate. I was a little nervous that he might back out in the few minutes before the big performance. He did get up on stage, and he did great. We both survived the "Swing your Partner Round and Round" dance, and he performed his solo wonderfully! I was so proud that he stepped way out of his comfort zone and did a great job. As we were walking out, he said, "That was not so bad. When is the next recital?" As a reward, we all went out for Mexican food, and then he and Mark went to see Prince Caspian. It was a great payment for a job well done!

Happy Birthday Olivia!

We celebrated Olivia's fourth birthday two weeks ago (I am a little behind on my blogging!). She was very excited to "get up in her fours" (as Grand-Bob would say) and leave three behind. We were blessed by a visit from her friends the Tuckers, who stopped by on their way to visit family. They joined us for a fine dinner at the Golden Arches (Olivia's restaurant of choice) followed by cake and ice cream. She was very happy with her Loving Family Dollhouse and her other treats our friends and family blessed her with. I am so thankful for my sweet Olivia. She adds lots of life to our house!

Piggy Back Ride!

Can you seen a two year old in this picture?

The children love spending time with Mark! One of their favorite Daddy activities is getting a piggy back ride! He puts on of them on his back and then chases the others (he gets quite a workout!). What a great Daddy he is!

Happy Mothers' Day!

I had a great Mothers' Day! I went out for several hours on Saturday while Mark watched the children. We had a bit of a rocky night on Saturday night, with tornado sirens going off twice during the night, but Sunday turned out to be a pretty day. We went to church on Sunday morning, and then had lunch at Ruby Tuesday's. I then had a nice afternoon nap. What a great way to spend Mothers' Day! Mark gave me a couple of hanging baskets and some plants for Mother's Day -- just what I wanted!