I felt as though I was at the end of my rope yesterday. Strangely enough, I don’t think it was just me. I think my whole household was going through the same feelings. Because today felt so much better. For everyone!!!

I woke up to pee around 6:00ish and realized that Brady had forgot to set his alarm. So I woke him up in a bit of a panic. therefore, I was awake. My kids were still asleep for another 2.5 hours but I had no such luck. I was a bit bummed but felt surprisingly rested. I figured that really counted for something considering the last couple of days. So I ran with it. I was fully prepared to be as boisterous as possible and super patient. Today had to be better than yesterday.

And these kids are just sweet as pie. You can tell a switch was flipped, even just for today, and everyone is feeling better.

Dekker is positive and making jokes and playing really well with Laela. When her water bottle ran out, he gave her his. He brought her crackers and helped her eat her lunch. Things like that. He didn’t scream, and hardly whined all morning!

Laela had taken two steps in a row a number of days ago, but not much else since. Today, she has been working tirelessly at walking. She accomplished FIVE whole steps!!! At one, she walked from one chair to another, grabbed hold, and then let go and just headed into the middle of the room on foot. I feel like its a pretty big deal when she’s not even necessarily going towards a destination, but just feels like walking. She fell on her bum after a few steps but I went to attack her and praise her up, and terrified her! She jumped out of her skin and started speed crawling away, until she realized it was a game, when she fell over onto her back and gave me her tummy to tickle and nibble.

Jim has made his very first visible movements for me today! They’re still pretty little, but they’re getting bigger, and can finally be seen on the outside! I’ve never had the experience of feeling movement inside but not being able to feel it on the outside until there was Jim. He’s kept me guessing a lot, but now I can finally see it and know I’m not making it up. I better not be after 21 weeks!

So many cool accomplishments I had to share today 🙂 Dekker was sad to go down for his nap but he did waaay better than I thought he would! He was sad, but went upstairs on his own, took his glasses off and put them on the dresser and crawled into his bed, all without being told! So I’m calling it a success, whining or not. Now that the kids are in bed, so am I. Just because I can, really. I don’t have much soreness or any chest pain today, but I’m still taking it easy. Yay for comfy, successful days where you don’t feel like pulling out your hair!!

Today was worse than yesterday, to the point where I ended up in bed with chest pain. Its just s big stage we’re all trying to survive, and its fine, but I anticipate nap time. All is well now, though. The kids slept until Brady came home, and Dekker came into our room and asked “Be close to mommy?” So we cuddled together for a bit before supper. All is well, and we love each other. No worries 🙂

So instead of talking about today too much, I realized I haven’t kept you guys as much in the loop on all the fun new things that Laela is picking up! We are late on her shots this month (oops!) so I can’t tell you what she weighs at the moment, but she just feels tall! She stands up all on her own in the middle of a room now, and walks around holding onto couches like she’s been doing it her whole life. I don’t even specifically remember when that started, but she’s a pro. She is now my second child who will NOT walk while we hold her hands. Absolutely not. She wants to walk all by herself. That being as it is, she’s been on the verge of walking for a little while now, without too terribly much progress. However, she took her first completely stable unassisted steps a couple of days ago!! Two in a row. Before she just sat down and crawled to her destination. We coax and play and do everything we can to convince her to walk, but so far she opts to plop down and crawl. But its coming.

Laela plays all kinds of fun games! She loves to clap and click her tongue, and sing and dance. She dances all the time!! Its adorable. On laundry day, she likes to root through the piles in the basement and try to wear the clothes. She’ll actually pile socks by her feet and have shirts wrapped around her shoulders. However, since we started laughing at her because of it, she just tries to pull everything over her head. Beware. If she succeeds, she’ll cry until someone saves her.

She and Dekker play this hilarious game where they make eye contact from across the room, and once they decide in their secret language that its time, they speed crawl towards each other. They both squeal and laugh, and Dekker bails out almost immediately. But when Laela speed crawls, her puts her head down and just motors, so Dekker stops and stands up, and Laela stops when she eventually runs into something. Its so fun to watch.

The little miss has an ever-growing appetite, finally!! She loves to eat at the table and is slowing down on her milk intake. This will be the last can of formula that she eats from, we think, and will throw her into homo milk any day now. I remember that transition with Dekker, and how he drank so much less. I worried about it before asking other moms, and hearing lots of them say that they figure it out pretty quick. And they did! Going from the bottle to sippy cup with Dekker was a breeze. Here’s hoping it goes similarly with Laela!

I think thats pretty much it for the moment. I’m feeling pretty achy and sleepy after yesterday, so I’m thinking a nice long sleep and a few more quiet days will do it! Sleep well, all!

Our small group had its first actual bible study this afternoon, and we had to miss it. I was pretty bummed about it, but the kids were just shot and in no shape to play with the other kids or to sit up in session with Brady and I.

Our family was up for food though, so I prepared two enormous batches of honey chicken yesterday and figured I’d just warm it up in the kitchen during church. I realized a bit late that I had made a pretty excessive amount, but its yummy and reheats well so I wasn’t too concerned. It heated up in time, and since our angry kids had to eat regardless of where, we were able to still stay and have lunch with our group. Luckily, Dekker loves honey chicken, and rice, and salad. So he ate well while Laela slid around in his chair and wept bitterly. After we had eaten, I helped with dishes in the kitchen, and Dekker played out in the gym area with the kids sooo well! When it came time, I told him that mommy and daddy were going to go upstairs to a bible study, and I asked if he wanted to come, or to stay and play toys. He responded with one solid high pitched scream about ten seconds long. Deep breath, and he gave it again. So we left. I was pretty miffed, but neither kid would have survived the next hour or two.

Laela was asleep before we were out of town, and Dekker stayed awake the entire drive. He went to bed when we got home, but Laela was sooo upset to be in her crib after already sleeping a half hour. So she came and hung out with Brady and I, but she was unhappy the entire time.

I won’t pretend it was a smooth evening. It was actually a total bust. Both kids were pissed and basically wailed all throughout the evening. Supper was unbelievably delicious, but again, kids screaming in between bites doesn’t make for an especially enjoyable family time. If I’m looking at it honestly, I’m sure we’ve had worse evenings (the first couple of days after Dekkers surgery probably rank pretty high up there…) but this kind just leave me fully exhausted. I’m trying to be positive and dwell on the good, but today felt like it would never end. Lucky for us, it has. The kids are in bed and I am sooo ready for a bubble bath! We finally cracked open the pickles that my mom and I made this summer and I could just eat them all day all night, but we’re going through them way too fast anyway. Merp merp. I guess I’ll be an adult and just be full of supper instead of overfull of treats.

Yesterday was SUCH a fantastic day, and I’m so thankful to you guys who anticipated the results with us!! We can now all be excited together 😀 Baby BOY is on his way, aiming for March 2nd.

I’m definitely anticipating that day. Not in the way that means I’m wishing the time away. I am one to do that kind of thing, but have made a point to STOP thinking that way since having my kids, and not wanting time to rush by anymore than it already does. There is so much going on before he arrives! Halloween is right around the corner, and guys, our kids are going to be unbelievably cute in their costumes! Trust me, you aaaaall want them to stop by. Also, we’ll have Christmas pretty soon after that, which I’m always excited for. We jumped the gun and put in the last few weeks of our weekly savings into our jar, so we can officially start getting the season set up and planned out. The next significant things on our list after that are in February, those being our anniversary, and the one year anniversary of Dekker having his surgery. Not my favorite thing to look forward to, but an occasion nonetheless. He has an appointment a few weeks after the actual date, and I’m very curious to see what the results will be, one year post-op. Thats going to be an interesting day actually. Both kids have simultaneous appointments, and they’re both getting those yucky stinging drops to dilate their eyes. *shivers* I will be 39 weeks pregnant on that day. And yes, my bags will be packed.

And SO soon after that, our baby will be due. And instead of saying I’m desperately looking forward to that time, my mind is full of questions. Of course I’m thrilled at the idea of having him in my arms, and I guess its too early to go into big details, but I’m nervous to make some of the decisions I’ll have to make. His birth will either be a VERY controlled occasion, or completely wild and uncontrolled like Laelas. Decisions, decisions. Anyway, lots to think about and luckily, still some time to come up with some answers and ideas. Might need some help, lol!

Brady woke up with a pretty wicked headache and couldn’t kick it for most of the day, so we relaxed and didn’t do too terribly much. We did laundry, and Brady napped in the afternoon while the kids napped. Tomorrow is a big day of church and our small group meeting, so we’ve got to be rested! Thankfully, tomorrow isn’t a day we lead music, so we don’t need to be there any earlier than the service starting. Please sleep in, kids!

In case anyone possibly missed it, we had our 20 week ultrasound today! This morning. At 9:30. That means we all had to leave the house by 8:30. I don’t normally leave my bed by 8:30, so it was a big of a change, but the kids woke up to us moving around and were ready to go when we were! We got to the scan a bit early and were in let in almost right away.

Our tech was not a very personable lady. We like our clinic. They always take their pictures and then show us around the baby and visit with us. Its a really nice place. But she didn’t say anything. She wouldn’t even confirm a heartbeat until she got their in her order of things. She had the screen turned to her, so I paid attention to Dekker and Laela for the first chunk of the scan, until I realized she wasn’t going to show us anything. Then I watched, and saw all kinds of wonderful things about my baby. It was a really clear picture, and baby was moving sooo much! I was a bit miffed to have missed the beginning and to not have the warm fuzzy experience like every other time, but c’est la vie. What I did get to see was fabulous! We witnessed yawning, thumb sucking, and butt scratching. Yup, not even kidding. It was hysterical! And if you can’t guess by the butt scratching, we were so thrilled to discover that our baby Jim is, in fact, a baby boy 🙂 A sweet, active, uncooperative but oh so exciting little boy. My mama heart is sooo thrilled to be adding another little boy to the mix that is our family. What a fabulous tie breaker!!!

After our ultrasound, we went to Coras for brunch to celebrate. We had a fabulous server, and Dekker was very comfortable with her. She did great, and took down all of the weird specifications that come from having food out with our kids. And then I spilled an entire cup of fresh, piping hot coffee on my lap. Aaaaall over my lap. My goodness, that burned. I rushed to the bathroom to see what I could, which turned out to be not a whole lot. No hand dryer to try to dry out my pants either. So I just stuffed some paper towels between my legs and my jeans, and tried to soak some of the coffee out of my jeans from the outside as well. My shirt got a decent douse as well, but luckily, I opted for black instead of the medium grey I was debating wearing, so that was camouflaged quite a bit better. I brought some paper towels into the restaurant area and honestly, tucked them between my legs to soak up more moisture while I ate. I tried really hard not to be ticked about the whole thing. Nothing could touch me!

And whats great is that nothing did 🙂 I ran errands and had a lot of fun with my family. We saw Dr. Mike aaaaall together for the first time probably since before Dekker’s surgery in February, and Deks was chatty and content with him. Dr. Mike commented to me “Wow, this is new! Thats awesome!” It sure was. We dropped by Superstore next for more sippy cups and Dekker requested to come in with me. Just me and him. I agreed to bring him and and he did awesome! He helped pick colors, and even carried the grocery bag out to the van, all by himself. We hit our bank next and I went in to square up from our trip, convert our American money back to Canadian, stuff like that. From there, Dekker and I once again ventured out together and bought some hand soaps at Bath and Body Works. So much success so close together!

We hit up The Better Good afterwards and I bought these beautiful moccasin boots for Laela for winter. I had purchased her snow boots already, but they were horrendously overpriced and probably wouldn’t have been used too much. Also, besides those, I needed to find her some cute boots for indoors for days like today. I realized that both pairs added up would likely cost around what these beautiful ones I truly wanted would cost, and they would translate to both settings. I had deemed them “too expensive” but upon this realization, I returned the other boots and bought the ones I really loved today. I even ran into Willa there, so big win all around!

Our last stop was going to be Costco for diapers. Brady dropped me at Lawson mall so I could peruse Thyme Maternity while he took the kids to run the last of the errands. I had this fabulous coupon and figured it was a good time to potentially jump on the winter jacket bandwagon. Straight up, I HATE the winter coat part of winter. I feel totally enormous in winter, with all the bulk of the jacket and scarf and everything. Add a belly to that, and it just doesn’t sound like a good time. However, I actually found a coat I really, really liked that doesn’t scream “maternity” at me. So I picked that up, plus three of their beautiful and super comfy long sleeved shirts for about $130. The coat at full price was supposed to be $140 and the shirts are each $28 so I’m thinking I got a pretty wonderful deal. Yay for $100 OFF! I doddled my way through the mall after that, did some research on upgrading our phones (won’t be doing that for a while :/ ) and eventually landed at Starbucks, where I purchased frapps for Brady and I, and seated myself outside in the sun while I waited for them to arrive. I relaxed in the sunshine while a nearby man told me his tale of woes, and how the love of his life cheated on him and left him childless, and how his dreams were crushed. I guess we all need someone to talk to sometimes.

After the van of fam arrived, we drove to my parents to share the wonderful baby news with them and ended up staying for supper and the evening. We ate good food and Dekker completely destroyed the living room with toys. But after not napping all day, both kids were trashed and it was quickly time to go home. They both slept the entire drive home, and were more than ready to be tucked in and continue right on with the snoozing. It was an enormous day for all of us, but truly wonderful!! So much happened, and now there is so much more to think about!!! I love being able to share the news of our baby BOY with you guys, and to be able to say “he” and “him” now instead of “it” or just “baby.”

Now to name the little sucker… Why are boys names so hard?!?!

I brag my doctor up a lot, I know. Some of you probably get bored of it. Thats cool. You just don’t get it. She’s the best.

My 20 week appointment was this afternoon. I was weighed first, where I learned that I’ve only gained 4 lbs so far! Thats pretty great for me, since I’ve usually gained ten by now, but I’m also starting higher than I did the last two times, so I’m happy. My doctor was beautifully on time. Pretty close anyway. Dekker had set up his chair in our exam room, and was playing with his trucks and eating his snacks off of the little table the pull out at the end of the bed. Not the most delicious or sanitary place to play, but its not like he was licking the stirrups or anything so I let it go. We talked about the few changes I’d had since my last appointment. I’ve started taking Zantac every night for my acid reflux, my pelvis and hips are just starting to slip out now, and I can finally feel the baby move! Other than that, there hasn’t been any big news. No recent fainting or bailing down the stairs, thankfully.

I was pleasantly surprised at the kids. Laela hardly made sound, minus showing off her newfound “L” sound, and Dekker was totally comfortable! He talked to Dr. Guselle and answered some questions. She commented that his hair was so long, and when I said that we really should cut it, she replied “No! Its so beautiful!” I agree. When it was time to check my tummy and heartbeat, he wanted in. He and the doctor talked about the measuring tape, and how mommy was at 24! We laughed and talked about my massive children. Then she invited Dekker to come help with the doppler and he climbed right up next to her and helped squeeze the ultrasound gel onto my tummy. She found the heartbeat right away and we talked to Dekker about what the sound was. I told him “Thats baby Jim’s heartbeat!” Dr. Guselle seemed a bit confused and asked how we knew the baby was boy if our scan was tomorrow, so we kind of joked and told her that Dekker was insistent that the baby was a girl, but he named her Jim.

As I was getting up, she asked if I was feeling anxious or content at the idea of labor, being that we’re halfway through now, so we talked a bit about that and what my specific hang ups are. I assured her I wasn’t losing sleep over anything at this point, but there were some details that I feel like, no matter what, they won’t go well. We agreed not to delve too deep into it just yet, but wait a few more appointments and go from there. She mentioned again that if I’m feeling incredibly anxious, that can help us make decisions too. I told her that I didn’t want something like that to make my decisions for me, and I should be able to just curb that, and she kind of tilted her head and said “Well, those feelings are really important, so we’ll just wait and see, ok?” I love her.

I felt so light after my appointment with her. The kids had been great, we had all just sat and visited for a good few minutes after everything was checked and done, and she is just always so encouraging. You know those few doctors in the world that never make you feel rushed? That always listen to every possible thing you have to say, and answer every single question? There aren’t many like her. I’ll see her again in a month, and I always anticipate the visit.

After this appointment today, I am even more eager to get myself to that ultrasound tomorrow!!! Although the gross realization of a 9:30am scan is that I have to have drank a litre of water before 8:30am. I’m not usually out of bed by then!!! Gross. Double gross.

Baby’s worth it.

Before I actually talk about what I’m going to talk about today, I have two quick little notes!

One is a merp merp for only getting FOUR guesses on baby Jim’s gender yesterday!! C’mon, more of you have to have a guess in there somewhere! Anyone else?? Of the four, we have one guess for a boy, and three for a girl. You’re on your own so far, Jerilee!

My second side note is that I fully neglected to say anything about my husbands birthday yesterday!!! Actually, both of our birthdays were yesterday! Not actually, but I hate that I’m older than him, so for those 2.5 months, I lie, and we magically age on the same day. We are now both officially 26! No big party for him, considering we had enough party last week, but we still celebrate and love our Brady very, very much.

The rest of this post will be about a savings plan we’ve implemented this year. I’m not sure what the official name for it is, but the idea behind it is that there are 52 weeks in a year, and to save some money each week. First week of the year, save one dollar. Twentieth week, save twenty. And so on. At first, I wasn’t pumped about this plan. Its supposed to yield roughly $1350 by the end of the year, and while thats great, its not like a HUGE number. You can’t upgrade your car for that much. You can’t pay off a big debt with that. Its not that impressive. Another “flaw” was that the biggest money weeks are right around Christmas. Don’t we all feel broke enough around Christmas anyway??

Boom. It hit me then that we could change the plan to make it work for us. So Brady and I decided to buckle down and consistently save money each week. We went backwards and started with the big weeks. We had a really lame financial time in the first few months of the year, but we diligently pulled cash out and saved it in our undisclosed location 😉 We planned ahead , and once the number reached $17 aka 17 weeks left in the year, we stayed with that number and have been putting in $17 (but actually $20) each Friday. That way, we will have completed the entire year of saving by the end of November. Just a couple more twenty dollar bills, and we are DONE! Best of all, we decided early on in the year that this money would be our Christmas/holiday money, which I plan to need sooner than later! That will include gifts, any seasonal treats like flavored coffees or candies, Christmas oranges, decor, events and outings, gas for any trips we’ll take, and the makings of a potential Christmas dinner we may or may not try to make! I sincerely hope we’ll come in under the amount of money we saved, but if anything unexpected comes up, we’ll be ready. I have to say, this one jar of saved money gives me a great feeling of financial security this year! I love that, even if work slows down, we will be able to have Christmas without too much stress over money.

Is it weird to talk about money? Maybe. Sorry if people feel weird :/ I just really love this plan, and I recommend that everyone does it! Who wants in for next year? I might actually make a reminder next year, every friday in the post, for people who want to do this. We are DEFINITELY doing it again!

** Pssst! Guess what our baby is, mmmkay?

Part of me is nervous to get too revved up about my ultrasound this week, since you never know if you’ll be able to see the gender or not. BUT I’m deciding to be optimistic and just hope for the best! I’m past the 20 week mark already so here’s hoping!

*Before I get too far into this, I’m implementing the Bambi law once again. If you can’t say anything nice, please don’t say anything at all. I have full respect for people who don’t want to find out, and all the wonderful surprise that comes with that, but its our decision as a family and we hope to find out. To each their own. Not something to get too riled up about.

So! I have no idea how to write a comparison post about three different things. That being said. It will probably jumble pretty bad, but I’ll do my best. I know I’m also only halfway through this one and all kinds of things could still change, but I’m going for it anyway.

At this point in my previous pregnancies, I had gained ten pounds. I have gained maaaybe five this time.

With the first two, baby was easy to find on the doppler very early. This time, baby is still hard to find, tucked waaay back in there, making it almost not register on the doppler.

According to early ultrasounds, D & L measured exactly to their due dates, if not a day or two bigger. J measured a solid few days small.

Dekker: no morning sickness
Laela: very nauseous until about 15 weeks
Jim: middle of the road nausea until about 12 weeks

Dekker: no boob pain
Laela: boob pain before I knew I was pregnant, held on for a week or two
Jim: boob pain for the last two months with no sign of stopping (living in sports bras)

Dekker: noticeable bump
Laela: not a blessed thing
Jim: finally starting to show, but mostly just looking like I ate two lunches

I have had acid reflux with each pregnancy, just starting earlier and earlier with each baby.

I had no pelvic/pubic pain with Dekker, lots with Laela starting this early, and none so far. I know there is still time for that to start, but if it didn’t start with all the walking we did in Vegas, I’m thinking I have a bit more time.

Felt movement with Dekker around 19 weeks, with Laela around 16 weeks, and with Jim around 18 weeks.

With Dekker and Laela’s pregnancies, I got beautiful skin, hair, and nails. This time around, I have chunks of dry skin all over my face, and where its not dry, it is pimple-ridden like that of a fourteen year old boy.

This is all a bit confusing, and maybe over-sharing on some levels, haha! I swore I would know exactly what I was having this time, but it seems like Dekker and Laela were very opposite extremes, and this baby is hanging out in the middle. Haha! Pun. I want to add one more weirdo detail to the mix before you consider the whole pictures.

On my moms side of the family, the order of cousins went boy, boy, boy, girl, girl, and so on. So far, all the grandkids on that side of the family have matched that line, Laela being the first girl. So following history, Jim should be a girl. Also, in my family of siblings, my mom had my brother, sister, and then me. I had Dekker, Laela, and now Jim. My mom said her pregnancy with my brother was very easy, and then her pregnancy with my sister was much harder. Her third pregnancy was so much easier than her second that she was sure I was going to be a boy, but fun surprise!, I’m a girl. So thats an argument specifically for girl too. Lastly, speaking of family, Dekker is dead set on baby Jim being a girl. He has requested we name the baby either mommy or grandma.

So I’m curious what you all think! I’d love any random opinions you have, as many as I can get! Our scan is on Friday, and I’m really hoping we can see whats going on in there! Of course, above all, we want to see a steady heartbeat coming from a healthy little (or big, let’s be honest) baby. But this is a really fun part for us 🙂 This is the part when I start feeling considerably more connected to my baby. When I can say he or she instead of it. I know some people think the nicknaming thing we do is lame but it is our last ditch effort not to call the baby it. (Bonus points for anyone who remembers Dekker and Laelas nicknames!) Anyway, throw out your guess! Laela was too shy to show us her gender at 20 weeks, so she was “orange” until we got a 3D scan and found out. Let’s hope Jim is a bit more of a showboat. In the womb, anyway!!!

Wager a guess!

** OOPS! Forgot to add heart rates in here! Dekkers never exceeded 160, and Laela and Jim both easily went over 170.

Today over supper, we asked the kids what they were thankful for. I just thought their responses were adorable enough to share with you guys. Dekker said he was thankful for mommy, salad, and mustard. When we asked Laela, she just said “Oooooh baby!” So I’m taking that to mean she’s thankful that there’s another baby on the way? Yes, thats about right.

We had a pretty relaxed day today, again. The little lady crawled so much that she got rug burn all over her little feet!!

We spent most of the morning downstairs, then had an early lunch so we could go play outside before lunch. Laela played on the deck and posed as the little Gap model that she is while Dekker and Brady took off somewhere with the wagon. We never see much of the boys when we got play outside. I actually love that. They love each other.

When we got back in, the kids went down for a nap and Brady tilled the garden, which is the final step for our yard being ready for winter. Ugh. I’m not looking forward to winter. BUT I’ve decided to anticipate it happily as “mukluk months” rather than winter. Positivity, right?

We had a plethora of leftovers for supper this evening, and didn’t accomplish much this evening. I finally put the laundry away from washing it all on Saturday, but thats it!

Dekker went down really hard. I HATE disciplining him before bedtime, but I hate more the thought of always letting things slide at the same time. Doesn’t that set us up for a disaster every single day?? Anyway, going down was rough but its done, and I’m so ready for my bath.

Fun side note, though! As my acid reflux gurgles up in my throat, I’m reminded that I have a very important ultrasound this week!! Just for kicks, I thought it would be fun to give some details and see what people’s guesses are, like we did with Laela. Almost everyone voted “girl” for her, since my pregnancy was so different from Dekkers. I was positive I’d know immediately this time around because of it, but I have NO clue!!! I’m so curious to see, so lets all root for a cooperative baby! Maybe I’ll make that tomorrows post. I’m already looking forward to it 🙂

Since the holiday weekend is officially coming to a close, I wish you all the happiest of thankful evenings 🙂 Sleep deep!

My parents aren’t around right now, and we often spend holidays with them, so it was a change for us to be on our own for Thanksgiving. Don’t feel bad for us, we were completely happy to have a comfy day at home with the kids. Brady had agreed to drum in church this morning, but the kids and I hung back at home.

When I went in to get them this morning, Laela was wailing her head off and somehow, Dekker was fast asleep. So I plucked Laela from her crib and quietly backed out of the room. She and I proceeded to get some breakfast together and play at the table for a while, just the two of us. But when she was mostly finished eating, she flipped her plate over and drummed whole heartedly on the back of it. It was very soon afterwards that Dekker woke. He was still groggy, but cooperated very well with his diaper change and headed out to the dining room for breakfast.

Both kids ate well and played well together. Dekker was quite whiny waiting for Brady to get back, but he’s still adjusting to us being home and I think he didn’t appreciate Bradys absence. Its good though, since work starts back up this week and Brady will be gone in the daytime again. It was a nice trial run.

If you don’t know, I’ve been craving really good asian food for about two months, and have yet to get my hands on any, much less my teeth. Brady and I had decided that he would go pick some up after church and bring it home for lunch. However, I discovered that our cafe in town serves Chinese food! I was really excited, and actually texted him this info while he was in church. We were both pumped, so he came straight home after church, only to discover that he internet lies and they are not in fact open on Sundays and holidays.

I went into full selfish mode. I had been sooo excited to finally have this ridiculous craving satisfied, and then there was no way to make it happen, that I couldn’t think of anything else I could possibly want. I started to feel legitimately nauseous and couldn’t fathom another thing I could possibly eat. Maaaybe seafood, which also doesn’t exist here. I whined about food until about 2:00pm, when I gave up and made myself a salad. I didn’t feel any better afterwards, but I knew the longer I waited to eat, the worse I would feel. So I just had lettuce with cheese shredded overtop, sunflower seeds, and my honey mustard dressing I make. It was yummy, but it wasn’t asian food. Maybe tomorrow.

Its pretty silly to be so devastated over something so trivial hey? Especially on thanksgiving!! Hahaha! I mean, we should always be thankful, regardless of the day, but it just seemed extra childish today.

So. To be thankful. I feel like people already know what I’m thankful for. The obvious ones: my hilariously beautiful children, and the husband that helped me build the. The roof over our heads. Our vehicle that runs. Safe water from our taps, and when thats not available, our kick-ass water cooler. We have everything we need. Here are some less obvious but VERY important things I’m thankful for.

Fetal movement. I am SO thankful that I can feel the baby move more often these days. It feels like its taken so long to get here, and I can still rarely feel movement outside of my belly, but I can be confident that my baby is active and growing. Thank you Lord!

Moving potential. We have been trying to move for a few years now, unbeknownst to most of you guys. For a number of reasons, we’ve had to stay put, and learn a BIG lesson about waiting and patience. However, it is looking like this next year could very well be our year to move. We are optimistic that next spring will our turn!

Friends. We are blessed with a fabulous support system all around us, but I am EXTRA thankful for the ever-beautiful Jerilee who lived in our house for most of a week so Brady and I could escape kid-free and refresh together. What an unbelievable gift that was!!!

Lastly, and you may find this a bit silly, but I am thankful for other peoples baby success! I wrote a while back about a YouTube couple that I watch, who had recently found out they were pregnant with their second, completely by surprise. Yet, her doctor was very convinced she would miscarry. I’m am THRILLED that the ultrasound showed a heartbeat, a healthy-looking pregnancy, and a reason for her spotting. God is GREAT!

Thats all I’ve got for you today. I’m very thankful I have the readers I have, because I doubt I’d still be blogging if no one was reading. Somehow that helps 🙂 Thanks guys. Talk tomorrow!