Not much going on

(Ainsley "helping" feed Abby)

There is just not much going on lately. I have been trying and trying to think of something witty or interesting to write about, but to be honest with you, I've got nothin'. We have been laying low lately, trying to avoid the 300 degree weather with 100% humidity. Ainsley has been singing a Beatle's song, that thrilled me to no end. Adison is being a monkey & literally climbing the door jambs. Abby finally learned to transition from crawling to sitting up, she is still Army crawling, so freakin' cute! Kirk & I went out on a date yesterday, for the first time in approximately forever. We left all 3 kids with my Dad, THANKS DAD! We went to a movie and Barnes and Noble, going out to dinner was scheduled, but then my head decided to give me a migraine. I think that's about it, nothing too interesting, but like my Mom & I say, "Boring is good!"

Blessed

I have been feeling so blessed lately, so very humbled and aware of how unworthy I am. The Lord has blessed our lives, there is no other way to put it. We would have nothing without Him. We have been blessed with a wonderful marriage and with children. Children, that word is still so amazing to me. When we had Adison, we had no idea how easy we had it. There was no way for us to look into the future and see how difficult the road to children (multiple) would be. We assumed that having a second baby would be easy, we were so blessed with how quickly Adison came into our lives, there was no reason to believe that it wouldn't happen again. We finally decided to try again, one year passed and then another. I remember every month passing and it felt like another child wasn't going to happen. Then, we became pregnant again, the excitement, the joy! I felt pretty good, not much different than I did when I was pregnant with Adison. I clearly remember the day that I was to have my first prenatal appointment, for some odd reason I remember telling a co-worker of mine that if I didn't come back to work that my appointment didn't go well. The memories of that day are still so fresh in my mind, we lost our baby. The Beatles song, "Yesterday" resonated so strongly with me. I ended up having a D&C, a week later we were told that I had a molar pregnancy, the nurse said things such a genetic error, possible cancer and not trying again for another year. Time passed, cancer was not an issue and we got pregnant again, lost a baby, pregnant again, lost a baby, pregnant again, lost a baby. Then, I became pregnant, I remember praying to the Lord, asking Him to please bless us with this child. That I would dedicate this child to the Lord and raise him/her to be a follower of God. He heard our cries and our prayers and this time we were given a child. The feeling of receiving this blessing has not left my body, we were given a child. When she was a few months old, I unexpectedly became pregnant again, lost a baby, pregnant again, lost a baby, pregnant again, another unexpected blessing. We have been blessed three times by the Lord, words cannot explain how rich our lives feel. We have been given a gift.

This week, I learned of another couple that struggled with having a baby, then they were blessed with a child. But this child was not meant to live long on this earth, he is back in Heaven with his Father. The sadness that I feel for this couple is overwhelming, their strength in the Lord is beautiful to witness.

This is a reminder to me to not sweat the small things, to truly cherish each moment that God has given me with these darling girls. To hug them extra close because we have been given this gift, freely given.

COHEN

July 1st Megan and Brent will be holding Cohen’s memorial service. The moment of silence is an opportunity for Megan’s blog community to stand behind her and support her on this difficult day. Linking up will give Megan a chance to see the support at a glance.

A bit of an update on everyone

Adison finished swimming lessons and has graduated up to level two! She had a blast and can't wait to get in the water again!

Ainsley had a stomach bug last week, poor thing was really sick. She is back to normal which means sassy & bossy...yes, she is a typical two year old.

Abby has started Army crawling within the last week or two. She just scoots all over the place, she is our first baby to do this, so Kirk & I are enjoying it.

Kirk is doing well, busy! He's such a great daddy!

Me, well, I am trying to keep things moving right along. Staying busy with the girls & trying to keep everyone from getting sick. But with 3 kids, that is next to impossible. Pray for me please!

Love ya!

Swimming Lessons!

Adison has started swimming lessons! She is doing fantastic and is quite the little fish.

She is also quite social, so this fills two basic needs for my little social director, first she gets to play in the water for an hour four days a week and second that she has a pretty captive audience. I can say though, that this desire to talk and to be around others is genetic, she couldn't avoid it if she tried!

She is doing really well though & is swimming much farther than last year. Woo hoo!

Ainsley vs. Gravity

Ainsley fell today. She was running in the entryway while leaving Adison's swim lessons and slipped on the linoleum. She then hit her head on a picnic table, her head pounced off of the table and hit the floor with a sickening thud. It all happened so fast! She was just laying on the floor not moving and screaming (the girl has a powerful set of lungs!). When I picked her up, she stiffened, her eyes rolled back in her head a bit and then she shook twice. To say I was terrified would be the understatement of the decade. She then proceeded to scream and scream and scream. I decided to take her to express care so that she could be seen quickly so I made a call to the pediatrician. I of course had to leave a message, but headed over anyways. Finally the nurse called back and told me that the minor med place was closed until 1:00 but that she could be seen by the nurse practitioner. At this point I was almost in tears, Ainsley was still screaming in the back seat and I could see the look of panic on Adison's face. We finally got inside the building and Ainsley stopped screaming, she seemed oddly normal. By the time we got in to see the nurse practitioner Ainsley was her old self again. She seems to be doing fine, we just have to watch her. I can honestly say though, that this ranks in the top 5 scariest moments in my parenting experience. I am now exhausted and ready for bed, that pretty much took it all out of me!

Memorial Day Weekend

This Memorial Day weekend we...

spent time with family,

we shared with cousins,

we walked to the lake,

we spent time with some of our favorite people,

got a little cozy under the umbrella ;),

we ate some food,

we hung out with Grandma,

we ate some yummy birthday cake (Happy Birthday Heidi!),

we shared some food,

we played some baseball with Grandpa and

at the end, we were tuckered out!