My First Apple Pie

What a fun weekend!  We had so much fun with family and friends.  I described it all to my sister as "happy chaos."  I attempted to bake my first ever apple pie for our Q Group cookout Sunday night.  Why do I always try new recipes when entertaining?  The funny thing is it makes my husband more nervous than it makes me.  My friends made me feel so good about how yummy it looked.  It wasn't the best-tasting apple pie I've ever eaten, but that didn't stop me.  :)  Here's the proof:

Craft Time

My sister-in-law bought my kids these Build-a-Bear sets some time ago, but when we first opened them up to give it a shot, it was clear that they weren't quite ready for them.  So I hid them away for a while.

The kids found them this weekend and have been begging for days to make their own stuffed animals.  So this morning, we put everything else on hold and worked on a craft together.  The kit has all the materials.  You stitch up the sides of the animal with a plastic needle and embroidery floss (I had to do all of this part).  Then the kiddos stuffed it (I supplemented).  Then you sew up its fuzzy bottom (again, Mom's job).  Then they designed the clothes with iron-ons provided, and I pressed all of the decals in place.  They are so proud!  Here's the finished product--Corben with his monkey & Cianne with her bear.

Cianne's actually making a bear growl for the picture!

Snips, Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

While I have a lot to catch up on, I think we should go with order of importance rather than chronological order. We had our ultrasound on Monday and found out we're having a boy! We didn't find out the gender of our other two kids until their delivery, and I have to say after having tried it both ways that waiting until the delivery is definitely my preferred method. I've always heard (generally from people who have never tried waiting), "It's still a surprise. You just get to be surprised a little earlier." But I thought Monday was a rather anticlimactic...probably more practical because now I can do more to prepare for the little guy (a.k.a. spend more money), but definitely not as fun or exciting. I know all you Polly Planners think I'm crazy, but...oh forget it, I probably am!

The kids really wanted to know what we were having. Cianne's already the perfect pleaser middle child. Originally, she said that she wanted a girl so she would have someone to play babies with her because if it was a boy, all it would want to do is play Wii. But when the tech asked her what she wanted, she said, "I'm going to wait to tell you." Then when it was announced we're having a boy, Cianne exclaimed with large hand gestures, "That's what I wanted!" Later she explained, "I don't like playing babies that much anyway." Sweet girl. I'm sure she'll mother this baby to no end; he'll become her own living baby doll.

We couldn't get a look at the baby at first, so I got up to go the bathroom to see if we could get the little sucker to move around. Ben gave the kids a brief anatomy lesson while I was in the potty when they asked how we would be able to tell if it was a boy or girl. When the ultrasound tech came back in the room, Corben filled her in that if it's a boy, it would have a pee-pee just like him and his dad. Haha! Cianne was completely fascinated by the fact that the baby is "maked" (naked) in my tummy. She asked again later just to clarify, "It doesn't have any clothes on in there?!"

Ben is especially relieved it's another boy. We've received lots of congratulations that we only have one wedding to finance now (nevermind the three college tuitions that remain). So now we know his gender, but we still have to wait five months to meet the little dude. I don't know if it will come fast enough. And I have no idea if we'll be able to settle on a name before time's up. The monogrammer in me desperately wants to start personalizing everything in sight for the little guy, but honestly, Ben and I just aren't very good at naming children. It's very stressful! Who knows if we can reach common ground in five months?!

On a serious note before I sign off from this eternal post, thank you, Lord, that this baby appears to be healthy. I don't take that for granted for one moment. While there are still so many risks and unknowns about our baby, this pregnancy, and the delivery, I put it completely in Your hands. I trust in your power, mercy, and sovereignty for whatever lies ahead in the coming days, months, and years. Use me as Your vessel to carry out Your will for this precious baby boy.

Women Walking With God

The highlight of my last few weeks was definitely the Women Walking With God Conference. It's the second year I've been able to go, and I already can't wait for next year! To all my girlfriends here, I want you to come too! This conference sells out, so we're going to have to get on top of our registration early.

The Northside Church of Christ is such a loving place with the most precious people. I feel like I have a second church family in Kansas now, and I was actually sad to leave some of those friends I know that I probably won't get to see for another year now. Thanks to all of you guys who made this last weekend an absolutely fantastic experience.

You can check out the website here, where there's a great promotional video of cardboard testimonies. We watched these ladies share their two-line stories while at the conference, and then my little sister also shared her own powerful testimony. I'm so proud of her and what her life and spirit is today thanks to the power of God.

Hope to see you there next year!

Catching Up

It's been a while, I know. We've had Spring Break and then recovery from Spring Break. Do I need to say more?

Our week off was actually a lot of fun. Ben's college roommate and his family came for a few days. We went to the science museum, visited a new baby, shared a fellowship meal with our small group, watched movies...nothing really extraordinary but so much fun when you get to share it with special friends.

On Saint Patrick's Day, Ben had to take a green snack to work. Try not to vomit, but this was my contribution:

Green Deviled Eggs. Believe it or not, they were a hit. They ate them all.

We also went to Texas to visit the in-laws and attend a family wedding. The kids enjoyed lots of cousin time. Fort Worth had a late snow storm at the end of the week, so it took us five hours to get home due to accidents and icy bridges! Thankfully, my Alaskan husband is always cool as a cucumber in those situations, and I always feel really safe with him behind the wheel.

The last random bit for this post is a video my mom took of Cianne this weekend doing "sign language" to Awesome God. First off, let me say that I hope this is in no way offensive. I would never mock the hearing impaired, and neither would Cianne. But the fact that she thinks she's really doing sign language is hilarious! Notice she never moves her fingers; they stay in a fixed position the entire song.

The Elephant in the Room

I've been avoiding my blog.

The simple reason is that I felt weird not writing about the most significant event/fact/change in my life, but I wasn't really ready to get it out there either. But it's really happening. And after a few weeks of praying, re-thinking/re-planning the next several months, and window shopping for cute baby stuff (since I don't own any anymore), I'm ready to announce the impending arrival of Baby #3.

I'm at the end of my first trimester, I think. Kerri Tindle took this picture this weekend of the rapidly growing baby bump. Not kidding, at around the 9-week mark, I was unbuttoning my pants to sit comfortably while driving! Hopefully, we can nail down a due date with an ultrasound at my next appointment. I'm looking forward to hearing the baby's heartbeat soon too. Never thought I'd be walking this road again. I find myself laughing with God's sense of humor, dumbfounded by His plan, and relaxing in the Father's faithfulness all at the same time.

City Girl Chores

My kids have lost a library DVD, I'm afraid. I hate having to pay for things we will never get to use, but I guess that's part of raising kids. I figured I should make this a learning opportunity though. It's never too early to teach responsibility, right?

So I told them they were going to have pay for the missing DVD. They told me that they didn't have very much money in their piggy banks because they had put it all in the "Lord's Jar," their affectionate name for the can that goes to the new children's building at church--STICK A KNIFE IN MY HEART!! But I'm sticking with this consequence. I told them that I would be more than happy to pay them to do some extra chores around the house, so they could earn the money.

Later in the afternoon, we're driving in the car when Cianne asks, "Do we know some chickens?" Confused, I said, "What?" She continues, "Well, if we knew some chickens, I could go collect some eggs to pay for my movie." Maybe that's a sign of too much TV or something, but it sure did give me a good giggle.