Please Pray for Harper

Scott, Kelly, and Harper need your prayers. Go to Kelly's blog for updates. Kelly is a fellow OBU Alumni and announced in May that they were expecting a sweet baby! Harper was born yesterday and she is in critical condition.

Please pray for Harper, she will have a heart/lung bypass sometime today. Pray for Scott and Kelly as they walk this road.

Am I Weird?

Ok, that's probably not a good question to start out with! Maybe I'm just a little too hormonal/emotional right now, or maybe I'm just a perfectionist. Here is what is bothering me...

I've been learning to knit and sew this last year and have really enjoyed it. But I've also really hated it at times. I have these visions and ideas in my head about how things will turn out and then when I either knit it or sew it, it's not perfect and I get mad. I have so many ideas in my head but feel defeated lately because I know it will not turn out like I have imagined it to be, so therefore, I give up. Right now I'm making a little ballerina wrap (cardigan type thing)  for Baby Girl. I've never made anything like this and while it's kind of fun to have the challenge, I just know it will not look like the picture. I've had to pull it out several times and it's just annoying because in my head, I think I just should just be able to whip it out and it will be just the most adorable sweater ever.

Then there is the whole scrapbooking thing. I use to really enjoy that too and did quite a bit of it at one time.  But I'm so far behind now that when I think about scrapping, I get overwhelmed and shut down and refuse to do any of it. I was trying to explain to Marc about my problem- there are too many options on how to scrapbook- do I do a book for each of the girls? A family book? And then how do I decide what to put in the books? We have so many pictures that I would have to sit down for a few hours and find the ones I want to have printed. Do I scrap every single thing about their lives or just the big things- like birthdays, Christmas, etc. I have WAY more pictures of my pregnancy with Cerys, like a weekly picture of my growing belly- and maybe I have 2 pictures of my belly with Bailey. So do I scrap every picture for Cerys' book and then Bailey will not have very many, etc.

See, it is just crazy. I'm way too much of a perfectionist probably, so therefore I just tend to shut down and not do any of it. Then I feel a huge amount of mommy guilt over the scrapbooking ordeal- what if I die and my girls have no record of anything because their mommy didn't take the time to scrapbook about their life?!?! 

So there you have it. If you've read the blog at all you will know by now that I have issues- but this really confirms it for y'all doesn't it? :)   I need to take a chill pill.  And I wonder why Cerys gets so OCD over drying her hands off, her hair clips, and many other things! She's a perfectionist like me and I'm trying desperately to teach her that things do not always have to do be perfect. 

Am I the only one that thinks like this? For those of you that scrapbook, how do you do it and keep up with it? For those of you who knit or sew- should I focus on just one thing and try and get better at it or just keep doing what I'm doing? 

Checking In

We will be attending Jen's funeral this morning in Pontypool. Please continue to pray for Ron and the family as the walk through this very difficult time. Jen will be greatly missed.

I saw my midwife yesterday- well my midwife is on holiday for the two weeks- but anyway- the midwife that I did see was very nice and all seems well with me and Baby Girl. (Yes, I think we have a name but now you will just have to wait!) I'm feeling all kinds of "niggles and pains" as they would say, and she did say that Baby Girl has dropped and is engaged. So, as you know, I'll be 37 weeks on Sunday and that is my goal. Even if it's midnight Saturday night. :) I know God is in control and we are asking for a quick, safe delivery and and just an overall good experience at the hospital.

I needed to get some things at the store yesterday, so Marc drove us and after just an hour of walking around I started feeling contractions again and pains. I felt like such a wimp- only an hour of being on my feet and it already starts up again?!?! Needless to say, I'm trying to do as little as I can (which I hate!) until Sunday- then I might just be running up and down our stairs or something really active!

I am laughing now because after all this action, Baby Girl will probably be late! :)

Thanks for your prayers for Ron, and for us as we wait for our daughter to arrive!

The Week Ahead

Well, good Monday morning to y'all. It's a rainy, rainy start to our day here today but I can't complain because it has not rained in at least two weeks I think? Must be some kind of record for Wales- two weeks without rain?!?! January is my least favorite month of the year here, although it's my birthday month, that's about all I can find to look forward to! Ha. It seems to be the darkest, dreariest (is that a word?) month ever and I'm always glad to see it pass. February is usually a bit brighter and then by March you might start to feel like a normal person again once the daylight returns. So, not that I want to wish my time away, but the birth of our baby will hopefully keep my thoughts away from how yucky it can be this time of year!


In other baby news, I thought Saturday night might be the real deal and Baby Girl would make her appearance. After a few hours laying flat on the couch and resting, things stopped for which I was so grateful. I'm all for not going to my full 40 weeks, but I'm 36 weeks now and have to make it to 37 weeks so I can be in the midwife led unit at the hospital. I won't go tell you all the horror things I've read and heard about the consultants (doctors) floor at the hospital- which is where I had Cerys. There is still a chance I would end up there though if I need a c-section (hopefully not likely) and/or any of other complication arises. I will see my midwife on Wednesday hopefully and then if I can just make it till midnight next Saturday I'll be happy to see Baby Girl! Of course after all this action, she will probably wait and come at 42 weeks. :) Which is highly possible since there is not really a high induction rate in this country. Ugh. Please Lord, no.

The girls are getting excited about Baby Sister's arrival- whether they actually know how much their world is about to change! Cerys is talking non-stop (no surprise there!) about how she is going to help me by bringing me nappies and wipes. I'm sure that will last one day! Sweet Bailey likes to talk to my tummy and stroke it and then she begins to sniff and meow like a cat, so I'm not real sure what that is all about! :)

This weekend we received word that one of our dear friends in Pontypool where we lived previously had passed away. When we first moved there, the precious people in Pontypool just took us under their wings and truly became family to us. They were all like grandparents to us and always looked after us. (You have to know that this church was a small group- when we moved there, maybe 20 people? And we were by far the youngest!)


Ron and Jen were one of the first couples we met when we came to visit a few months before moving. They have always been supportive of us and never missed sending us a birthday card (for each of us) and Christmas card every year. Even while we were back in Texas. We can always recognize Ron's famous handwriting on the card before we even open it. Last year Jen was diagnosed with cancer and was soon in remission. We have seen them several times over the last two years of being back in Wales, but we got word that she was back in the hospital over Christmas and was really ill. We are heart broken, although we know Jen is singing with her beautiful voice with the angels right now and in the presence of Jesus. We are heart broken for Ron, who was by her side every day for all the years they were married- I don't even know how many years, but trust me, it was a LOT of years! He played the piano every Sunday at the church we lived above and we could always here him early on Sunday's through the floor just playing away! He is such a jolly fellow. If you think of it today, please pray for Ron. I'm hoping there will be a service this week in Pontypool and I'm able to attend. I want to hug his sweet neck and let him know that we will not stop praying for him. I will miss seeing them together, they were always so funny. I remember him telling me about how they met and that they would go dancing every weekend. Hehehe.

Jesus, be near Ron.


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This is Jen, holding Bailey. And Ron behind her with a cheeky look on his face.

On my agenda this week-
*more rest (boring)- we decided I over did it the end of this week and weekend.

*finish making a Boppy. I made a trial one last night and it was a bit too small so I will try again!


*I'm in the middle of two knitting projects- those ballet shoes I wrote about here and the ballerina cardigan wrap on the cover of the first book. I've already pulled the sweater out several times, so if I ever actually finish it and it looks like a sweater then I'll be pleased.

*Try and make a few meals that I can freeze- the trouble is that our freezer is the size of a dorm fridge if you remember, so I'm not even sure I will able to do this one.

And, last but not least-
When did my babies grow up?


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I should explain this one. We were looking at some photo albums of when Cerys was born this weekend. Because she spent a week in the NICU, all her first pictures are of her with her oxygen and feeding tubes in her nose. She has seen these pictures many times, but she always likes to look at them. Yesterday morning before church, she came into my room with this necklace on her face and said, "Mommy look, I look my baby pictures!"

What a long and rambling post.

I'm Still Here

I haven't updated in a few days- things are okay here, I'm almost 36 weeks pregnant so that is good. However, I'm ready and done! This being the 3rd baby, it seems everything hurts and I'm just so tired. I feel so lazy, trying to rest as much as I can.

Thankfully Marc is able to rearrange his schedule so either he can take Cerys to school and collect her or I can have the car to take her, which helps tremendously! Today was Marc's first day back to teaching through the gap year program, so although he was able to take her to school, I had to collect her, so me and Bailey had to walk. Normally, not a big deal. Today, it seemed like a huge task to me for many reasons. It was cold (35 degrees) and I didn't realize it was drizzly/rainy until I was about 4 houses away and I knew I did not have time to turn back to find the rain cover. So, Bailey got a little wet and me even more so. It normally takes about 13-15 minutes to walk but today I left 30 minutes ahead of time, and boy did I need every minute. I got to her school right as they were letting them out the door, and I was almost in tears from the pain/pressure - sorry for TMI- the pelvic pain....oh my word. I didn't have this with the other two, so I'm baffled this time, but it is painful! I gave in and decided we would ride the bus home and thankfully I had enough change.

In other news, I got my hair trimmed and colored today, and painted my toenails (no small task!) so I feel like the baby is allowed to make her appearance now! Ha. Bailey also had her first haircut- not much but just a little trimmed off the back so hopefully it will grow a little more even. She was so proud to finally get her "hair-cup."

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A little more even in the back


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And Mommy, with no make up on, my hair is not this light, it's more caramel color and you can see Bailey's little hair trim in front. Hehehe.

Yesterday I celebrated my 32nd birthday and it was a special day. We started the day off with muffins- that Marc bought- I was impressed he even thought about it. I like celebrating birthdays and with the girls and Marc I always make them a birthday muffin and use this cute little muffin stand that Marc thinks is funny...well you know, he did good. He bought us all muffins AND had mine on the muffin stand at my place at the table with a candle in it. :) What a guy. Then we proceeded to a meeting, in which my friend had made my Nannie's Banana Bread for me and it was YUMMY. So I had a pieces of that for a mid-morning snack. Then at lunch we celebrated by eating chocolate cake and ice cream- I told Marc I would make my own cake if he would take me to dinner- so we ate chocolate cake after lunch. (I'm pregnant, and will diet later!) Marc and the girls gave me a beautiful candle and a book that I have been wanting for a while called- The Ultimate Knitting Bible. For dinner, Marc arranged a babysitter and took me to TGI Friday's for my favorite- chicken quesadillas! It was a very nice day!

Welcome 2009

I'm still here, and still pregnant in case you were wondering. :) Happy New Year to you, hope you had a fun night-however you spent it. We had considered going into town to watch the fireworks last night (they were in the early evening, not midnight!) but after all that has happened we decided it was best to stay home! Plus, it didn't really go much above 30 degrees yesterday, and I didn't want to bundle us all up.

So instead, we made chicken fajitas for dinner and I made a chocolate chess pie that I never got around to making at Thanksgiving or Christmas! After dinner, we went into our back garden to launch some fireworks- they are so cheap here and you can do them wherever you want. Kind of scary actually. Marc and Cerys had gone to pick some up yesterday and we thought it would be lots of fun. Then Marc lit them and all the popping and smoke upset Bailey so the 3 of us ended up watching them from inside our conservatory! They clapped and cheered Daddy on from the inside, it was hilarious. Poor Marc, and soon another little girly will be arriving. :) They sure love their Daddy though!

I wasn't sure I would make it till midnight, but I did. Marc put a movie in and I knitted. Are we old and boring or what? We watched the BBC and Sky News ring in the new year from London and Scotland and then watched some drunk people dancing in our street outside our house for a few minutes before going to bed. They were sure partying and when a car came by and they would not let it pass, we closed the curtains in case it got ugly. Have I mentioned there is a pub down the street from us, so on the weekends and holidays we get all kinds of crazy passing by.

I look forward to 2009- lots of changes with another baby girl that will arrive soon- but fear usually finds me at the beginning of each new year and I can't help but wonder "what will happen this year?" On Beth Moore's LPM Blog, she is challenging us to memorize scripture-a lot of it- this year. I have been thinking about it for a few days and asking God to give me something I could start the year off with- in light of everything that is about to change in our lives. Beth posted the scripture she is starting with and as soon as I read it, I started crying and knew it was for me. It is the New English Translation and there is just something about the words that speak right to a certain place in my heart right now- here it is -

He is your constant source of stability; He abundantly provides safety and great wisdom; He gives all this to those who fear Him." Isaiah 33:6 NET

Very simple, yet it was just for me. So that is what I'm starting 2009 with- Thank you Jesus for being my CONSTANT source of STABILITY. I sure need it.

Just A Little Update...

Well, it's been an interesting 30 something hours- I woke up early Sunday morning, around 3:30am with some pretty strong braxton hicks- not unusual for me. I had them with both Cerys and Bailey and even stronger this time around. Anyway, they seemed more intense and lower on my belly, so I just tried to go back to sleep. Didn't really sleep much. Sunday morning we had already planned to go to IKEA to get some things we needed, so we went ahead with that plan (I know, I know) and then on the way home we needed milk, etc. etc. etc. By the time we got home, it was lunch time and I needed to at least get the girls fed before calling the hospital. The contractions had still continued, and I counted 10 in 60 minutes. After ringing the midwives, they told me to come in and get checked just in case. I kissed Marc and the girls goodbye, told them I would be back in just a little while thinking they would check me and send me home to take a warm bath and relax. Ha. I walked to the hospital- remember we just live around the corner and I was not going to drive my car 50 yards to pay for parking. I arrived and was immediately assessed. I was still contracting 1:6 min. so I was then told they would give me some strong medicine to stop labor (even though I was not in really that much pain) and I would have to be transferred because the hospital was full and if I did have the baby then there was no place in the NICU for the baby.

And that's when I freaked out.

The doctor told me that I was be transferred to hopefully another hospital in South Wales if there were any openings or I would be air-lifted somewhere else. WHAT? I was told to call Marc ASAP and they would start my meds. So, needless to say for about an hour it was pretty chaotic. Thankfully one of our team members was free, and she came to keep the girls while Marc threw clothes in a bag for me and headed up to the hospital. Thankfully, there was a place for me about 45 minutes away (actually the same hospital I was at near Pontypool when I miscarried our first pregnancy) and so I went by ambulance...a first experience for me!

The meds have seemed to work and after behaving nicely and promising the doctor this afternoon that I would not lift anything heavy (i.e. 2 little girls) and would rest, then she discharged me home! I have to take this medicine for one more day and then I'll be done. If it starts again she said I just need to get myself back to my hospital ASAP and hope there is room for me and the baby. She said I can only have this medicine for 48 hours and then they will not try and stop labor if it happens again. So, I'm praying I can make it 3 more weeks to my 37th week, in which I'm considered full term. I see my midwife on Wednesday and she'll be in for shock when I tell her all this. Anyway, I'm feeling fine right now, just going to try and rest the next few days. Poor Marc, we just get over all this illness in our family and now I'm going to have a long to-do list for him. :(

So there you go. It's never a dull moment around here!

What We've Been Up To...

We are making the most of our family time right now- and here are a few pictures to show you what we've been up to!

First of all, we have the scary/pathetic/skinny Santa that visited Cerys' school. She would have nothing to do with him and who can blame her? At least stuff a pillow in your jacket!

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Friday night, we took Cerys on a "date" as she called it - we went out to dinner and then to see Cinderella on Ice. It was a fun night, and I think she felt rather special to be alone with Mommy and Daddy. The chocolate ice cream during intermission was a big hit too! :)

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Saturday night we made a Gingerbread House. Well, I bought a kit and we decorated it. I think Bailey ate more of it than she did decorate, but that's okay!

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Sunday afternoon we went into town to Winter Wonderland- they have a rides/games, an outdoor ice skating rink and a large Ferris Wheel. We rode this carousel and just watched the ice skaters. Then Marc and Bailey road the Ferris Wheel while Cerys and I watched from below!

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Monday we visited Rhondda Heritage Park- it's an coal mine turned into a museum. This time of year you can go down in the mine and search for Santa and his toy workshop. We made reservations for yesterday morning and had a fun time!

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Don't they look thrilled?

Each child got a gift from Santa, so the girls are posing with their present after we came back out of the mine. Cerys got a little purple scooter and Bailey got a stuffed Santa.

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Merry Christmas from Wales!
Posterous theme by Cory Watilo