Charlie is Here!!

So proud to finally announce that Charles Aiden has arrived.

May 7th, 2012

8lb 10oz~19" long

I will write more about Charlie & his birth later.  I'm still recovering.  I had to have an emergency C-section and the recovery has been pretty tough so far, but I'm getting better.

 We just can't get enough of this little guy!

My daughter Sarah took these pictures.  You can go to her blog to see more.

Surrender

New favorite photo!

I am 40 weeks in this one.  I was walking the dog & looked over & caught my shadow on the side of the garage.  Quite a shadow I have these days.  And I still have it.  Due date has come & gone like I knew it would & we continue to wait for baby.

May 3rd looks to be the day though.  I am scheduled to be induced that day.  I really fought this hard in my head for a long while but have decided it may be the only way to get this baby here.  I am showing NO SIGNS at all of labor coming anytime soon & that is rare for me.  I usually have dilated a little by now but still nothing!

Surrender seems to be the theme of my days lately.  I found some synonyms for the word & didn't like what I read, but when it comes to my relationship with Christ surrender is exactly what I need to be doing anyway.

Giving up is the one synonym that really jumped out at me.

Giving up my plans.

My plans for this birth.
My plans for our family.
My plans for how long we will live with family.
My plans for my children.

And my list continues to grow.

I don't have specific scripture to use as an example but I know it is in there & will one day do a more appropriate post on this.
It hasn't been easy getting to this point.  It has been a learning process about myself & of course revealed so much to me about the mercy of my God.  I'm not ready yet, but I hope someday soon to be able to put this down in a much better way that can be of some encouragement & help to someone else.

In the mean time I would appreciate your prayers.  Prayers for a safe & quick delivery (hopefully very soon) & continued prayers for our family as we wait on God's perfect timing in letting us all live back together again.

Countdown!

Sam kissing Baby

I think this is my favorite picture so far.  Sam is my youngest(so far) & is so excited there is a baby coming, he kisses my belly all the time.

I am 38 weeks today.  Won't be long now. I can feel my body getting ready.  The baby has dropped which has now allowed me to breath better, but the trade off is walking is more difficult & trips to the bathroom are hourly. :o)

Slowly, I am getting things ready for the baby.  We are all so ready to see this new little family member!

God has been so patient with me during these past 4-5 months & in his mercy has brought several friends up beside me who have reminded me of who I am in Christ and who He is in my life.  They have spoke straight to me without worry of how I will feel about them afterwards.  What a blessing they have been!

One day, I can share with you all the Lord is teaching me.  Not sure how many books it will take to get it all down, but the lessons are abundant!

God is Good!

It has been a long time since I even checked on my blog, much less posted anything on it.

So sorry!

I honestly don't have much to say these days.

Our situation is the same.

Scott still has no income.  He is buying & selling on eBay and that is bringing a little, but not enough to call "income".  But it is a start & we will see if it grows into anything worthwhile.

I have about 5 weeks left until baby makes his grand appearance.  We are so ready to see our little man!  My belly is full of baby & moves constantly.  I have all of the typical 3rd trimester aches & pains but try not to complain much...I know that I am so blessed to be carrying another baby full term.

We have been so blessed by friends who have passed on to us baby things.  I don't think we will have to buy this baby anything!  I will even have a baby shower in a few weeks.  That was very weird registering at Target for baby things.  There are so many new things, my teen girls had to tell me what was good & what wasn't.  I'm so glad they babysit!!!

The excitement of a new baby occasionally fades when reality sets in of our current living arrangements.  Right now, there is a lot of traveling back and forth between my parents house & my in-laws house where my husband and teenagers stay.  Very soon I will have to stay with my husband at his parents house until the baby is born, but there is not room enough for my younger 4 kids to stay also. My doctor & the hospital I will deliver at is 20 minutes from their house. So it only makes sense for me to stay there.  As much as I wish I could change this, we don't seem to be finding a better solution to having the younger kids with us.

My parents are more than happy to keep my younger ones with them & help us get them to me as often as possible, but as a mom you want your youngest ones with you.  That is just how it is.  So, we will see how all of this really plays out.

God is good.  I say that often.  I have to say that often to remind myself. I know it is true, but there are days when I get consumed by life.

A few Sunday's ago I was reminded in the sermon that Job grew weary, David grew weary, Paul grew weary, and so many more all grew weary of their trials, but they never gave up.  They knew their God & they persevered.  They set the LORD before them everyday!  Their satisfaction was in God.  They may have been weary at times, but they were not shaken because God was their refuge.

"I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.You make known to me the path of life, in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16:8&11