14 & 1/2 Weeks

On a slushy day we took the kids out for a bit and Kenzie loved the puddles!
Our Annabelle tree - March 5th would have been my due date with her. I am so thankful that on her due date I get to know there is another miracle growing inside of me. That knowledge does not make us miss her any less. And I do look forward to the day I get to hold her and her sister Hope in my arms and never let go. However in the mean time I needed here on earth to snuggle and cuddle the ones God has blessed us with.

Love his excited face!

Holding Daddy's Hand

Sleeping Handsome Boy

My sister and her kids came out for a night and these two were the best of buds. It was so fun watching them play.

Jeral playing with the kids!

Snuggles with Auntie Jocelyn

Well I am officially out of the danger zone with this pregnancy. I walked into my OBGYN's office with a big smile on my face. In part because I had cheated and listened to our little ones heart beat in the morning with the kiddos. All in all I feel pretty good these days. Just tired and really emotional (aka - I cry a lot). I never expected to miss the person I have been missing a lot lately. However it makes sense since she walked the fertility journey with me for the years we struggled. Yet oh well life is as it is for a reason and we are going to have another baby! Girl name is picked. Boy name still up in the air. Five weeks from now we have our half way ultrasound and I am looking forward to that, we just need to find a babysitter to watch the kids so Jeral can come too! I am so in love with this little one already. IN the beginning I tried not to attach simply because we were so afraid that God would hold this miracle before us. Yet it is so hard not to go to sleep at night holding my stomach dreaming about this little one and how he or she will fit into this family just right! I know Kenzie is going to be a great older sister. I may have to make sure she is not crawling in to the play pen with the baby or trying to put the baby in the toy strollers and then pushing him or her around. Jaris I think will be a little stand offish at first simply because he likes his space, however I can already picture how he will gently give the baby some of the best slobbery kisses!

I look forward to Monday's these days. Monday is my day! I have a pretty fantastic husband who every Monday takes the kids for me so I can have the afternoon to myself. Most Mondays entail some shopping at my favorite store HomeSense (however for lent I am intentionally giving up going there. I think our pocket book will appreciate that). Followed by sitting in a coffee shop with a decafe drink of some sort, a book and journal. Ahhhhh love that time. Then last but not least my Ellen time. She is a royal pain in the rear end some days, yet I would not have it any other way. If need be then I get some groceries and head home to my amazing family! This day out in all honestly helps me be a better mom, and I am so thankful for a husband who makes this possible!

Well I think I shall retire for the night, maybe tidy up a bit first. I am looking forward to our family morning out tomorrow!

His favorite place to nap! My chair that I used to spend hours sitting in while journaling and talking to God!
Smiling watching Curious George

So one morning after bath time I ran down stairs to get a few things and can up stair to find my naked son covered in lotion and having a grand time!

If the bath room door is ever left open I can guarantee this is how i will find Kenzie!

Jaris and his favorite stuffy! He goes no where without it and will not settle for the night with out it!

The last few days have been filled with a huge amount of laughter, and maybe some pulling my hair out as well! There is rarely a dull moment with our children. Just last night we were sitting at the dinner table and I asked Jaris to show me his nose. He promptly took his finger and shoved it up his nose. Then he waited for a response and when we started to laugh Jaris broke out into full laughter with the biggest grin on his face. Needless to say this went on for at least half an hour since he was so adorable.

After supper was followed by dancing like crazy and drive tackling mommy (me) who was on the floor! Jaris' big head coming at you full tilt is a sight to behold. Then hearing him laugh and throw his head back while he said, "this is fun!", was well pretty sweet!

Nights this week have gone fairly well. Kenzie has slept through the night for 4 nights out of 7 this week. Yes she is getting up at 7 am instead of 9 am however that is okay, at least she is starting to sleep through the night again and that makes me very happy!

In Baby Krahn #3 news I can't believe that I am almost 13 weeks along now. Our little gaffer is a mover that is for sure. When we lay in bed at night trying to listen the the heart beat we will get it for a few seconds and then whoosh the baby moves, and we find it again only to have the baby move yet again! Oh well an active baby is a good thing! We will see if I am saying that at 37 weeks and just want to sleep!

Ring Update!

How I found Jaris 30 minutes before supper after a long battle with him and Kenzie to take a nap so I could sleep! I love this boy!
Typical morning grumpiness! Kenzie takes after me in that she is not a morning person!

On any given day this little boy can fall asleep almost anywhere, except for his own bed!

Eating lunch one after noon, I am pretty sure she was trying to give me all her reasons as to why she should be allowed to eat all her meals while sitting on my lap! Way to self advocate!!!!!

Jeral was able to suck out my engagement ring from the plumbing! My creative husband used our shop vacuum to suck all the water and other stuff in the toilet out and miracle of miracles my engagement ring was in all that yuck! So there will be no new ring shopping in our future and that is fine by me. Reality is as I said in the last post my kiddos and Jeral are more important than anything I own or possess.

In other news Kenzie is talking up a storm in 4-6 word sentences! It is so adorable and i know as her mama I understand more than others yet I love hearing her express herself. This afternoon I was on the phone with my sister and Kenzie clearly said "Mommy, I want to talk." So I let her talk, and she even said hi to her cousin Tyson, whom she calls Tysie!

Jaris is talking a little more these days, however we have implemented a new rule in our home. No soothers except for naps and bed time. I really want him to go without the soother so he will talk more! It is hard to believe that in March he is going to be 2 years old. He is already as tall as most 3 year olds, yet my little boy is just turning 2! It looks as though he is over the flu which makes me a happy mama!

All in all I am doing pretty well these days other than being tired. Most days by lunch I am ready for a nap, yet due to my lovely daughter not napping I do not get that luxury, and then by the time bed time come my second wind is in full swing! Oh well! Last night was the first time we got to hear our baby's heart beat here at home. When I was pregnant with Jaris we bought a Doppler just so we could listen to his amazing little heart beat. Then my sister had it and I really did not think I would ever ask for it back because I was expecting again, yet here I am and at 11 weeks and 3 days we got to listen at home to our little ones heart beating and I am falling in love all over again. In the beginning of this pregnancy I was scared to start thinking about this child and his or her future simply because of the two miscarriages we have walked through since having Jaris. Yet now we are in full swing of thinking and dreaming about the future with 3 children, and how our life will hopefully look. Funny thing is Jeral wants this one to be a surprise (oiy, me and surprises!). We will see what happens in April at the ultrasound. I could give a million reasons as to why we should find out, yet in the end the awe and wonder of not knowing and Jeral's desire to be surprised may win out! All that I truly dream and hope for is a healthy child, boy or girl! Anyways I am off to bed and to listen to our little miracles heart beating again! Gotta love modern technology!!!!! By the time my kids are having babes of their own they will probably have there own portable ultrasound machines! Now that would be cool!!!!!!!

Worth More than a Ring

This little Girl is Worth More than a ring to me. She is priceless!!!

I have always said that my children are more important and valuable to me than any of my earthly possessions. Well I get to live that out now because Kenzie put that to the test today. At night I take my rings off and set them on my night stand because I do not like sleeping with them on. Mid morning today Kenzie got a hold of my engagement ring, the ring set that was my Grandma Astle's, and a costume jewelry ring I had on the night stand and ran for my bathroom and flushed them down the toilet. I bolted to catch her before she flushed yet, I was too late. I plunged my hand into the toilet and was able miraculously to grab my grandma's rings, and the costume jewelry ring, however my engagement ring was gone. I always thought living out my philosophy of my kids being more valuable and more improtant to me would come in the form of them staining our carpets, which has happened and I could care less about, or breaking our TV, or smashing my IPad, or flushing my Iphone. Instead my engagement ring got flushed and that is okay because while there is sentimental value, I can living without my ring. However I would never want to live without MacKenzie, Jaris, or the little one growing in me right now. Jeral and the kids mean everything to me. A ring can be replaced in time if that is what we choose. My husband and children can never be replaced!

The Flu Has Struck Again

I saw this raven at HomeSense in Kamloops just before Christmas and bought it because of what it says! This is my hope for me and for my children as they grow up. That they will dream big and never be afraid to fail, because no matter what I will always be proud of them when they do the best that they can.
Jaris fell asleep on the kitchen floor tonight. He can sleep almost anywhere (I am slightly envious of him for that).

On Monday of this week I originally thought the week was going to look very different than how the week turned out. On Tuesday morning Jaris got the flu yet again, and he is still as of today Friday feeling sick. My heart aches for my little boy who normally loves to play with his toys and enjoys his space. For the past 4 days all he has wanted to do was be held by me, and I will admit that I am secretly enjoy all the snuggle time with him as Jaris tend to be a daddy's boy most days! Kenzie on the other hand is not so fond of mommy spending most of the day snuggling with Jaris. Well let me correct that she has moments when I know she wants me all to herself and then other moments when she is very happy because she knows she can get away with whatever she wants because I am busy cuddling Jaris. Needless to say my patience at moments is rather thin these days. I was talking with Jeral at supper while holding Kenzie on my lap and I told him while this week has been exhausting it is wearing on me because I am pregnant and hormonal. Honestly I am not sure how I would have handled this week if it were not for God and Jeral coming home from the farm lots to help out with a rather lively Kenzie. I am so blessed to have Jeral be able to be home as much as he has been this past week.

I had a prenatal appointment this week and we were able to hear the baby's heart beat in the office so that means the weekly ultrasounds are stopping and while I am sad to not see my little one every week, I am very happy that everything is looking good so far. I am not feeling that sick anymore which is nice. Some days I forget that I am pregnant because I do not feel that sick, and then the tears start streaming and I know yep I am hormonal and overly emotional, thus I am pregnant. I will admit I was not prepared for the emotional on slaught this pregnancy would bring with it, and yet I trust that God is going to use this heightened emotional space I am in to bring greater healing into my life and for that I am thankful.