Sand

This past week we went camping at Indiana Dunes State Park. The weather was perfect. Cool, breezy and sunny. Nights were pretty cool. This was Baby Bean's first camping expedition on the outside. We went camping while I was pregnant with him. He slept well at night and even took a nap! He loved the sand and was really good on our hike. My blessed husband carried him in the sling. The big kids were amazing. Boundless energy. They scaled the dunes like pros. Husband and I are not exactly in the same shape we were in 10 years ago before children so we took more pauses. The view of the lake was spectacular. We could even see the Chicago skyline clearly. The kids definitely want to go to the beach again. Hopefully, it involves an ocean this next time. :) DH is not a fan of the beach so we will see if that will come to pass. Probably mountains or Nebraska prairie next.
We even got to see Venus in transit between the sun and earth. Something we will never get to see again. DH was able to get a pic on his iphone so I will try to upload that later. So awesome to see God's creation. From a planet to a small lizard it is truly amazing to see how big God is and His creativity knows no bounds.

 The black speck is Venus

 Evening on the dunes

 These flowers were everywhere on the trails

 Ready to head onto the beach from the trail

The water was beautiful. Large ship in the distance.

Survival

This has been a long difficult week. Baby Bean had surgery to repair his cleft palate on Monday. Surgery went well and the surgeon seemed pleased. Hopefully, it will heal well and completely. We go for his post-op in another two weeks. At that time he should be off all restrictions. He has to wear arm splints to keep his hands out of his mouth. He is not happy to put it mildly. He is slowly eating more and drinking is going a little better today. He is currently sleeping. In his own bed. By himself.

Haven't really taken any pictures of the kids this week. I did snap a few quick shots of some plants. Last summer my in-laws bought me some plants for my birthday. We had a drought last summer so I wasn't sure how they would fare. Everything seems to be doing fine. I might have to move a few things that need a bit more sunlight. 

Hydrangea just starting to bloom! Lovely.

Lavender. This one is thriving! The other two need to be moved a bit to get more sunlight.

Oh dear. I have done it again. I like reading other blogs but am awful at updating mine. I think I try to set high expectations when I need to be more reasonable. How about a post every Sunday? I think that might work. No promises. Not even going to try to update everyone on the past months. Two pics and then more on Sunday!

 Easter

My sweet girl turns 7. She wanted banana splits. Yum.

Saturday

Lots to catch up on. The last post was in April so I guess I will start from there.

April-Baby Bean turned 2months. My sister and I went to Chicago to visit our new nephew. Had a few appointments regarding Baby Bean.

May-We began the taping process in anticipation of Bean's first surgery. The process was so much simpler than we expected. He tolerated it very well and the cleft was closed from 13mm to 3mm. A huge answer to prayer.

June-Grandma and Grandpa came for a visit the first week. My tiny sister arrived home from S. Korea. Bean's lip repair was on the 27th. He came through like a champ! He did much better than expected. His lip and nose also looks great. He still has many surgeries in his future but we are pleased with the progress made so far.

July-My birthday and my sister's. Bean off restrictions from surgery. Precious friends and family from church pitched in to get me a massage and were so generous I was able to get my haircut and go on a date with my husband. The date never actually happened. But we were able to have some mini dates after the kids went to bed. Matilda monkey lost her 1st tooth at the end of the month. Fervent prayers were offered up to bring tiny sister's fiancee to the states.

August-Tiny sister's fiancee arrives!! State Fair. Bean's 1st ear infection. My sister's wedding shower.

September-Wedding month. Lots of routine dr visits. Matilda loses 2nd tooth. Our 12th anniversary. Lots of birthdays!! Adoption finalized and then a visit from the nephew (he brought his parents along for the ride).

My brother visited can you tell?

My sweet boy! 3 years old!!

Yes, he did that by himself.

Who Knew

Apparently, I have a blog! Sorry internet I have been busy. While I have had plenty to say I just haven't wanted to sit down and type it out. Baby Bean is three months old. It seems like a long and short time all at once! He is still eating well. Sleep is a little more challenging. I can see a slight improvement. He has his lip repair on June 27th. We will have to transition him to a special bottle for the three weeks post-surgery. It is more of a squeezy bottle with some tubing on the end. We will start working with him a week or so before surgery so it isn't as traumatizing. I am not looking forward to surgery as I am pretty sure the three weeks post-op are going to be miserable. He likes to fall asleep cuddled on my chest which he won't be able to do. His bottle will be different. He will have to wear arm splints. All of this on top of being a fussy baby. Anyone want to trade me places? We are praying that he will surprise us and it won't be awful. And if that isn't God's will....we are praying we will have stamina to endure!! I will try to put some stuff in the freezer over the next few weeks.

The girls are doing well. Matilda is reading. She is making slow, steady progress. Bella is almost done with most of her school work. We should be finishing up in the next few weeks with everything except history and math. Biscuit is loving spring/summer. He is outside every chance he can get. The girls start swimming lessons this next week. Can't wait to see how they do!

All Things New

We have lots of new things around here!

A new baby!

Four kids!

New glasses for reading!

A new guinea pig named Charlotte!

Baby Bean is 5 weeks old now. He is eating well and sleeping well at night. During the day, not so much! We started school again full time last week. So far, so good! Bella went to the eye doctor last week. She is slightly farsighted. It is something she will outgrow. She had been having headaches so we are going to do glasses for now. The guinea pig came compliments of my midwife. She needed a new home and since the girls had been wanting one for so long we decided to take the plunge. She is very sweet and doesn't smell!

I also have a new niece and nephew! The niece was born 10 hours after Baby Bean. The nephew was adopted a week later but found out about the same day Baby Bean arrived! Such a huge blessing! I haven't received permission to post photos of them publicly so just imagine cute babies! And yes my mom is very busy! Lots of grandbabies to snuggle!

Baby Bean

Baby Bean has arrived! We are loving him to pieces. Our sweet boy arrived Tuesday morning at 6:45. He weighed 8 lbs 14 oz. He was 21.5in long. He has dark hair and I won't be surprised if he ends up with brown eyes. He is absolutely precious. The girls are in love with him and would like to hold him all the time. We won't have to worry about someone to help hold him. Biscuit is cautiously optimistic. He has held him a few times and likes to talk about him. Here are a few pics and then I am off. I probably won't be posting anything for some time.

Busy

In an effort to keep busy I started a new book last night. Had to remind myself to turn off the light and go to bed. That is always a good sign the book will be good. It is 'The Imperial Cruise' by James Bradley. It is about the cruise that Teddy Roosevelt and Taft took to the Philippines, Korea, China and Japan in 1905. It tells how this cruise and the diplomatic talks surrounding it set up the events of WWII specifically, the Pacific involvement. Very interesting! I will keep you posted on how the book turns out.
No new baby news yet. For the most part I feel great and don't have any complaints. Of course, I am tired of gestating and have had yucky heartburn but other than that am doing well. Trying to decide how to do my lesson plan for this next week. I am hoping that baby will come yet this weekend and I won't have to do my plan! Must go shove some more laundry through!

Baby Update

Well, apparently Baby Bean is super comfortable in my uterus. I think my gestation is going to stretch into years instead of months. Trying to be patient and wait. I have had really horrible heartburn the past month or so. My throat is sore! Have done all the nesting I can do. No big projects to work on to keep me busy and distracted. Still doing school.

My darling husband took us all to see Megamind at the $1 theatre yesterday. So funny! I was really surprised that I liked it as well as I did. The previews were just ok but the movie was good. That was a nice distraction. We came home and made pizza. I had quiche (see aforementioned description of heartburn). Husband is at Bible study this morning and then has to go into work for a few hours then we have our small group for church tonight. At least today will be distracting. We will see what the next few days bring! It is supposed to be 60 degrees tomorrow so maybe we can all take a walk. Don't worry we will call, FB and otherwise inform when baby arrives!

Sigh

Well, all hopes of birthing early are gone! Tomorrow is my due date. (For whatever that is worth.) I am feeling well, but am ready for this baby to arrive. I am trying to be patient and remember that God is in control of when this baby will be birthed. He has a perfect time and I don't want to interfere with that time. So, no, we will not be doing anything to encourage labor. Unless you count going up and down the stairs several times a day or vacuuming. (both things cause contractions) I did have contractions the other night for two hours but they went away. I had contractions like that for about a week before Mr. Biscuit arrived. I am hoping for any day other than Valentine's Day.

Snow/Sick Day

Today is a snow day and sick day combined into one. We only got the tiniest amount of snow. I think 'a dusting' would be the appropriate term! But we haven't had a snow day yet for school so I am taking one. So There! Plus, I am still sick with this stupid cold or whatever it is. Bleh! I haven't been able to sleep at night which is super fun. Last night I was up from 3am-4:30. Not to mention the lack of sleep from bedtime until midnight. And then Nathaniel crying at 5am. I am a little tired today. So we are going to hunker down and survive our day until daddy gets home. My dear husband has been a rock this week! He arranged for some mommy time for me on Monday to relax. I was already starting to feel a bit off so it was nice to rest. I made my sister a sling for her new baby. (Can't wait to meet my niece!) Then on Tuesday I packed them a lunch and he took the kids to the Children's Museum. I had my prenatal appt. All is well. Just waiting! Then by Wednesday morning I was miserable. He skipped his Bible study to take care of everyone while I rested. Thursday, early morning, I had a fever for a few hours and couldn't sleep. So, he took Biscuit to the grocery store. I am sure when his alarm went off to go to work this morning there was a small sense of relief at not having to be Mr. Mom today! I am praying he doesn't get sick or anyone else for that matter! That is our week in a nutshell. Super exciting, eh?

On an unrelated note...I love Skype! I was able to talk to a friend last night in China! So amazing to be able to see and talk thousands of miles and 13 hours away! I was also able to talk to my baby sister this morning in Korea. Please be praying for her as she injured her tailbone! She is pretty miserable. Pray for quick healing! I love you tiny sister!

Ocho!

My sweet little girl is eight!! I can't believe it! We had a nice day yesterday. Bella got to go to lunch with Daddy at Steak n' Shake. She even brought back a shake for her siblings. Sweet girl. The girls spent the afternoon in the snow building snow men. Matilda was quite thankful to be allowed out. We made her cake and cupcakes. She has a two layer (white on bottom, chocolate on top) cake with pink cream cheese icing. She also has cupcakes. I forgot to get ice cream yesterday so I will have to run out for that later. She wants chocolate with brownie chunks. Her birthday dinner was breakfast pizza, hash browns and apples. It was devoured rather quickly. She opened her presents after dinner. A Hello Kitty bedding set, some Bath & Body Works stuff, a painting kit. The girls spent the rest of the evening wrapping themselves up in the comforter. Tonight is the family party.

Poll

I put up a poll on the right! You can vote on the sex of Baby Bean. Big prizes to those who are correct. Such as bragging rights and self-congratulatory pats on the back! Leave a comment if you want.

Thankful

My sweet little Matilda Monkey is doing great! She has been off the narcotic pain meds for a few days now. With very little Tylenol even! She has another day of antibiotics and then done with all meds. She still has packing in one side of her nose and tape on the outside. The packing is starting to come out and should only be another few days until it is out all the way. My prenatal appt. went well. Everything seems normal and baby is still very active. We will have another appt either Thursday or Friday. Need to double check the schedule. We haven't really done anything this week. This next week we are back to the grind. Need to stay on schedule so we won't be behind when Baby Bean makes an appearance!

Better Than Expected

Matilda Monkey's surgery went very well. She had some pain immediately following surgery but seems to be doing very well now. She hasn't complained once! At least not about surgery related things. She did change her mind about wanting a baby brother after Biscuit was trying to smack her today. (And, no, we don't know what we are having) We go back to see the surgeon the first week in February. A few people have asked how things look which is a bit complicated. She is swollen and stitched and taped up. It is a bit hard to see anything. It will also take a bit for the tissue to heal. The scar tissue will also take a while to even out. It took about six months after her initial lip repair to see what it would really look like. I will keep you posted!
My darling husband was able to do some school with Bella today, so we aren't totally behind!
We have a prenatal appointment tomorrow. I can't believe we are down to every week prenatal appointments already. This baby will be making an appearance before we know it. Everything is ready to go. Except, I realized diapers might be a good idea! I keep thinking we have a few months left but we don't! I better get that on my grocery list for next week!
Off to snuggle with Monkey and scratch her back!

Question of the Day

Why do tangerines have so many seeds? Two of my three children love oranges and I thought we would try some tangerines to mix it up a bit. So many seeds!!! I guess it is back to clementines or navel oranges.

We are one week out from surgery day. Matilda Monkey has surgery next Monday. I am praying that all goes according to plan and her recovery is short with minimal pain. She has done so well with all of her other surgeries to day that I hope this one is no different. I will be 36 weeks the Friday after surgery. How did that happen!? Technically, full-term. I always go late so no reason to anticipate anything happening so early but one never knows! Then one week exactly from surgery is Bella's birthday. The time is flying by! I can't believe she will be 8.

Happy Dance

My precious husband got me a webcam so I can skype with my sister in Korea! We were able to talk to her last night and this morning. All in one day for her! So fun to be able to hear her sweet voice and see her sweet face. The kids all thought it was pretty great. They skyped with my parents also (who live a whopping 10 min away) . I think the phone is a thing of the past for them. So thankful for technology that enables us to stay connected! Thank you dear husband!!! Also, Biscuit is getting his lovely locks cut today. Will post pics if the haircut is handsome. If not, I will dig out a paper bag! :)

Being the Genius That I Am

After my shower this morning I put my glasses on and noticed they were very blurry. Must need to be cleaned. So I took them off and finished getting ready. I went downstairs and cleaned them thoroughly. Put them back on and they were still really blurry! Oh no! Maybe they are scra....oh I put my contacts in this morning. Never mind! Can I blame this on being pregnant?

Two Big Things

Mr. Biscuit is now officially a big boy. He has his own special big boy bed and he is potty trained. Hallelujah! Everyone always says boys are difficult to potty train. Not the case! Last Monday I put him in underwear and told him he needed to pee on the potty. He had three accidents the first day and none since. He will not use the small potty and insists on the big toilet with no little seat insert. This is after we special ordered a pee deflector for the potty chair. Thank heavens it was only $2. He has been dry at night and nap time. I feel this is all too good to be true. I keep waiting for him to decide he doesn't want to do this after all. The past 2-3 days we have even let him wait to tell us when he needs to go with very little prompting from us. So far so good! I am in shock! He looks so cute in his big boy underwear. At least, our diaper budget is gone until February!
His bed is going quite well. He loves it and calls it "boy". He seems to be sleeping a bit better. Averaging once a night getting up. He knocks on his door in the morning to let us know he is up. (We have a thing on his doorknob that he usually can't open by himself.)

Big Boy Bed
A little literature while pottying!

Big Boy

Last week Mr. Biscuit was switched to a big boy bed. I can't believe that time has come already. So far, he seems to be doing well. We sit in his room til he falls asleep. This typically takes less than 10 minutes. Unless of course I fall asleep also. Not that that ever happens. Ha ha! He actually slept through the night last night. Now if only I could sleep through the night! We were so incredibly blessed to have two great sleepers first. I am praying baby bean will be a great sleeper as well. I haven't taken a picture of him in his bed yet. Maybe tonight if I remember.