Goodbye Summer!

I can't believe it! We've had so much fun with no routine this summer. :) This week has already been an eye-opener - with plans every single night as we prepare for the fall.



Our new "fall schedule" starts next week.



Zac starts his first co-op class next week. It's really the first time he's been in class that is just for him. I requested for him to be in the Kindergarten class rather than the preschool one. We met the teacher last night and got to see her classroom. She showed us her "syllabus" and this fall the children will work on letter recognition. Colors, too. Then in January, they will work on letter sounds. Sooooo.... not sure how that will work... but hopefully Zac will get something out of it - if not just a fun time with friends. I guess I'll continue to give him homework packets at home this year, too.



He's also taking a class about China and one on Garden Science. He starts choir, too. We also start our weekly bible study and MOPS. Our PTA playgroups begin next week, as well as the preschool playgroups and classes given at our (old) neighborhood elementary school - which we are still involved with since we will be moving back after CARES is over. AND, I am going to the dr every week now.



PHEW! Busy times ahead!! :) But we like busy - it gets us out and socializing and having fun. Plus it keeps me from having time to shop for this baby girl - and don't you know Brian will like that!





CARES is going really well. We had a successful BBQ 2 weeks ago and a wonderful breakfast this weekend.



On Monday, we did an event with a local pizza place, and sold $5 pizzas at the gate. Zac LOVED this. He would go to the car windows, take their order, take their money, and deliver the pizzas to them. It was sad when he had to go in and get ready for bed before we were done!



We are going to serve breakfast at the gate next week, and I know he will be so excited to help. Such a sweet little blessing he is!!!



*warning: mom bragging ahead* On Monday morning, we spent some time in prayer for our friends starting Kindergarten today. I LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing him pray. It's so sweet and thoughtful. He prayed for each friend and was saying things like, "Please help them obey their teachers" and "God, don't let them be too scared." He loves his sweet friends so much. :)







Anyways, we are getting very excited for sweet Selah Grace to join our family!! Zac falls more in love with her each day.



We were on our way to a pool party on Sunday and I told the boys she was just kicking like crazy. Zac said, "Oh Selah... don't worry, we'll swim together soon!"



He kisses my belly and says, "I love my Selah-baby!" And he is *REALLY* excited to share a room with her. He is looking forward to the company I guess. ;)



She appears to be doing really well. She's quite the mover! My doctor (have I mentioned how much I LOVE him?) doesn't do exams (doesn't think it's necessary), so I don't know if I am in any stage of labor whatsoever. But, my guess is that I'm not, and that she'll come late. I'm going to predict an October baby. We'll see if I'm right! (of course, I also thought she was a boy, sooo.....) Our September is so busy, I only have a handful of dates that would work for me to go into labor. She'll listen to me, right? When I was induced for ZZ, it was 5 days after my due date, and I had no signs of labor at all. No dilating. No dropping. No contractions. Nothing. So, who knows what this time around will look like.



Sleep around here is a joke lately. Brian's been so tired. He thinks he's sleeping all night, but I see him open his eyes when I move around and get up and down, etc. So I know he's not getting good sleep. And for some crazy reason, Zac has been waking up between 4-5am. And he's such a fun-loving morning person, it's hard to be frustrated. He gives us neck massages and snuggles - which is SO sweet! But.... not necessarily what we'd like to be doing that early in the morning after my tossing and turning and bathroom trips have already interrupted the night's sleep. :)



We did have a little excitement last weekend when I had some contractions. But we called the dr, and it just ended up being stress and busyness, and I just needed to chill out and drink some water. It did make me get on the ball with the kids' room and clean it all up. And find Selah Grace's sheets, which were lost in the move. (i did find them!) Since I can't paint here, I'm resorting to vinyl decorations for the wall. I think. If I can squeeze it in the budget. I've already been banned from shopping for clothes.





OH! And happy birthday to me!!! We celebrated when we were out of town. Brian took us out to dinner. After dinner was over, I was SO disappointed that Brian didn't tell our waitress that it was my birthday. I said to him, "Aren't you going to tell her it's my birthday? " I was so sad! And I said, "Now it doesn't mean as much because I had to tell you." (isn't that SO bratty?!!) He kept apologizing and got up to tell the waitress.



BUT, it turns out that he has already been to the restaurant earlier that afternoon. And when the whole wait staff came to sing, they had a yummy dessert for all of us, a precious card from my wonderful husband, and a vase full of a dozed beautiful roses.



Hello?! I felt so special! And so guilty for giving him a hard time!!!


Last year, I didn't get home until late that night and he had made a cake (all by himself! first time!) and had wine and roses. So sweet!!!

Last year's cake

Much better than how we celebrated Brian's birthday this year. I think I said happy birthday to him... I can't remember much between throwing up and dying a slow death on the couch. We ended up having another "birthday" for him 2 months later... lol

That's all from us.

Here are some prayer requests from our family:



* Zac's new co-op class... that I will have peace about leaving my baby boy in the hands of another teacher! And that Zac will have a great time (pretty sure that's a no brainer...haha).



* Brian's work - he is soooo super super busy right now, with some new challenges and responsibilities. I am extremely proud of him! But I've never actually seen him bring work HOME until the past couple of weeks. Just that he will be able to find peace and a good balance.



* Our CARES events - we have some fun things planned for September! We are having lots of fun meeting new people and forming relationships with the "regulars."



*Baby Selah Grace - that I will finish all her hairbows before she comes.

KIDDING!

Really - that she will stay healthy and be born exactly when God wants her here. We trust His perfect timing, we just need the patience to wait on it. :) Also, I am getting more and more nervous about childbirth. It's my first time experiencing it all, so I don't know what to expect at all. Brian has been nothing short of AMAZING so far - but the really hard part is coming up!



*That the sleep issues in our house will at least give us a reprieve before this sweet baby girl come and throws us for another loop. ;)

Road Trip

We went on a road trip!



Probably not the BEST idea for someone who is sooooooo pregnant... but our family needed some bonding time - so off we went!



And on the way, we discovered that Zac has done more than just listen to the radio in the car. He knows the words to, like, every song. And has motions to go with them.



And the more we laughed, the cuter he got.



And the cuter he got, the more we laughed.



Good times... :)

Summer Reading Contest!

ZZ was one of the top 25 readers this summer! We were so proud of him! All in all, we read 100 books. He read about 25 of those by himself!

He is such a good little reader for his age. Unless I'm forcing him to read... then all of a sudden, he can't remember the word THE. But if it's a Star Wars book, he's reading words like rebellion and galaxy. Go figure!

Anyways, here he is picking up his certificate

He got to choose one book to put a sticker in. He chose "100 Bible Heroes" and we got to check it out, too.

Then he got his picture with the other winners. The picture is hung on the wall in the children's area of the library.

Here's RIGHT when they said they had cookies and juice for the winners. So easy to please!

After the little party, we went along with our normal library business. We are very much creatures of habit... we go every week, return our stuff, and check out 20 books and 5 videos.

Oh, and ZZ has to check the card catalog for books on cats, Power Rangers, Ninja Turtles, and Star Wars.

My smart little guy!!!

Flashback Friday

July 2007....Back in the days when I could actually move around and be fun. :)

We can't wait to go country dancing again... it's something we have really enjoyed together.


Terrible quality pics... but sweet memories!

(he does this a lot in pictures... makes silly faces behind me!

Picture Post

Just downloaded some pictures on our little camera. I've been getting some flack about no pictures of me! But, it was true. I've been really bad about it. And when one of my sweetest friends in the whole world (Hi Leigh!!) had to reprimand me, I knew I had get over my embarrassment and take a couple.

And really - who's going to really want to see me pregnant more than sweet Selah?! I am doing it for her! :) She's worth it!!




This is a random shot when I was watching a show and Brian was cracking up at my belly. It's pretty large and in charge.

30 weeks along

Here's one of my sweet boys before bedtime. We can't read to ZZ in bed because he has this really tall loft bed and the railings are these metal bars that are brutal to big feet.

So bedtime reading is here. Zac loves his time with Brian. :) Look at him hanging on for dear life to this couch. No complaining... as long as he is close to Brian!




We had a CARES event on Friday night at a baseball game. Aren't they SO CUTE?!




After a homerun! :) (our team did lose, though)





A picture of us... and Zac's finger. ;)

I am always so surprised because I forget that I look like this. (she's worth it... she's worth it.. she's worth it...)



My boys cuddling again. I forget what they were watching, but anytime Zac sees an empty lap with Brian - there he is!

Pay no attention to the disaster area behind me. I'm trying to finish hairbows and embroidery! This is last Saturday night before hanging out with some friends for a little UFC.

34 weeks along

Here we are the next day going to church. My wonderful boys!! <3>

ZZ and Mommy! My face is extra puffy in the mornings, esp hot humid mornings. :) She's worth it. She's worth it.... ;)

I finally joined my boys tonight at the pool. Usually they go by themselves, but I keep hearing about all the fun. So I put on my big old tent bathing suit and joined in the fun. :)

And some videos of ZZ and his "swimming."

Not much else is going on. This Restless Leg Syndrome is a B.E.A.T.I.N.G. There's nothing you can do for it. Thank GOODNESS it doesn't happen every night. But the nights where I am affected, I am almost in tears. SO tired!! And I just have to walk around until my legs are calm enough to fall asleep. Oh my goodness. Only 6 weeks left! And YES, she is worth it! :)

Fallen Pieces

I woke up in the middle of the night (NOT uncommon these days!) Saturday night to get a glass of water. In the dark, my swollen sausage fingers knocked over a glass that shattered in the cabinet and on to the counter.

Grrr!! :(

I waited until morning to clean it up. All those broken pieces into the trash. (although I'm fairly certain there's a shard that fell under the dishwasher) The glass was sharp and dangerous, and I wanted it out of my home. In the garbage. Where those fallen pieces wouldn't hurt me or my family.

And I thought about my own brokenness. And how God didn't throw me away several years ago.

In fact, He took great care to find every single piece, even though some were sharp. And some hurt Him. Yet, He worked on me, putting me back together so I could be used again.

I am so thankful and humbled. Because sometimes I felt like I deserved to be in the trash. Far away from God where I wouldn't hurt Him. But I am back in His cabinet. Along with many others that look like me.

And I see Zachariah's glass. Cracked.

Little glasses aren't supposed to be cracked.

They shouldn't feel the pain of being broken. But he has. And lately, some of his prayer requests have brought Brian and I to our knees.

And we want to put Zac's little precious glass in a locked cabinet where he will be safe. Where he will not fall. Where he will not hurt. Where we can control his circumstances.

We can't.

And it feels helpless. And we have to let him leave "our" cabinet and come back chipped and hurt.

And then he asks us "Why?"


But, we know the God who will take the time to find the fallen pieces and gently repair the damage.


I shared Zac's prayer requests (and my helplessness) with 2 sweet friends. I knew these girls would be on their knees for him.

And on that same day, Brian and I literally saw God's holy hands gently piecing Zac back together.

And we felt hope again.

And we know His children will suffer. And we need to let this sweet boy experience suffering. And, in return, experience an unexplainable grace. A hope that is learned from dependence. A trust that can be trusted. And a love that is unfailing.


We have so many joyful moments around here. We are so so blessed. But thanks for remembering Zac's special little life. And thanks for praying for him.

Updates on us

Sorry for the delay... my computer was acting so silly last week.

Here are some updates on us!

Little Miss:
She's doing wonderful. It's hilarious to see her SO active. I love it for Brian, too, since he really gets to "interact" with her. He is so desperate to hold her! I signed my vbac consent form last week at my dr appt. So, hopefully that will work out. My dr ROCKS, so I feel extremely confident. :)

Little Man:
He went to another vacation bible school last week with some friends of ours and had a total blast. He didn't do very many crafts that week... apparently too busy socializing. But I begged him to at least make ONE. So, I now have one little paper bowl covered with green tissue paper (a turtle) to treasure. I wish he would have made the cute footprint craft I saw the other kids make, but he didn't want anyone to paint his feet. And if you've ever seen us attempt to trim his toenails, you'd know that was to be expected.

He is getting better and better at swimming. It's not a very pretty way to swim, but he gets from A to B. And Brian taught him how to do a cannon-ball, so he feels, like, super COOL right now.

Daddy:
He is loving the gym and pool at our property. He's on a major work-out kick and brings a salad to work each day. I'm very proud of him, although a bit nervous as his weight comes DOWN and mine goes UP. We are getting dangerously close....

He just got a couple more states added to his territory and was asked to do some training. Because he rocks. (I don't think his boss actually put it that way, but I know it's probably what he meant.)

He is also getting major kudos for putting up with my slightly increased emotional state lately. I don't know if *I* could have handled me last weekend. Just a bit hormonal perhaps... And a million emotions/fears/anxiety/etc. I hope to be back to normal some day.

On top of all that, Zac is going through a HUGE daddy-phase. EVERYTHING is about daddy. When is daddy getting home? I want daddy to kiss my ouchie. I want to ride with daddy. I miss daddy. Brian can barely take a breath when he gets home from work. He's got a 4-year-old attached to him until bedtime.

He is the most amazing husband and dad. We are incredibly BLESSED.

Mama:
I'm doing alright. Normal 3rd trimester stuff I guess. Somehow I've been lucky enough to have a bit of Restless Leg Syndrome at night. It's a crazy thing (and very annoying), but I googled it and apparently it's common and will go away after she is born. Also, my hands keep falling asleep at night (like all night long) - which I happened to google this morning and found it's also common. Go figure. With Zac, I just got really huge. With Selah, I have all sorts of fun little quirky things going on in addition to the huge-ness.

Last week, I struggled with dropping Zac off at VBS. He ran off right when we got there (no kiss goodbye!!), and I didn't know what to do with myself that first day. Thankfully Brian was traveling, so he talked to me while he drove. It was just weird. I so rarely drop ZZ off anywhere - I'm usually at least THERE volunteering or something.

But then I discovered how different it was to go places like Target without a child tagging along. Wow. It's probably a good thing he's normally with me. I ended up buying WAY too much because I had all this FREE time to look around!

And I was also able to hit a big consignment sale to get the kids' winter clothes/shoes. I was hoping to find some used Star Wars toys to give to ZZ for his birthday (those things are expensive!), but didn't find any. I also got to roam around Goodwill, which is SOOOO fun for me! I never get to do that! I found a ton of clothes for them, at only 95-cents each. Anyways, Zac and Selah Grace are now fully stocked up with coats, jeans, sweaters, etc. Good thing, because not only had Zac outgrown everything from last year - but I sold it all at the consignment sale, so his closet was pretty bare!

Oh! And I got a cute diaper bag that looks just like a Petunia Picklebottom - for only $7.50! :)

Cares
We had our first event last night. It was a baked-potato-bar at the clubhouse. I got to learn how to make 50 potatoes using a 500-degree oven and our cooler. (and it worked!) We had the usuals come to the dinner, but the turnout wasn't as great as we hoped. We had forgotten to put out the signs until about an hour before the dinner (supposed to be put out the day BEFORE), so that might have had something to do with it.

Now we have a million potatoes leftover to eat. (have I mentioned that our apartment now smells like one giant oven roasted potato?) I asked Brian to pass them out at work, but he thought that might be weird to wheel his cooler around and put baked potatoes on his coworkers' desks.

Anyways, we've had a good response to our next event - a minor-league baseball game this Friday night. After that, we have 3 other events scheduled for this month: a pool bbq, a clubhouse breakfast, and a movie night.





Today, ZZ and I are chilling out. We've had playdates (or vbs) every day for about 2 weeks. And after today, we will have them again every day until school starts.

But TODAY, we are actually going to the dentist to get a cavity filled. Isn't that sad? Zac doesn't know and his dentist said we don't have to tell him. He'll be pretty out of it during the procedure. But I am SO SAD for him!! His first cavity! :( :( Unfortunately, I don't think he's going to have the best teeth. There are 7 other teeth she is watching. :( Bless his sweet little heart. Brian is joining us for the appt. During this "daddy-phase" we think Zac would rather see him than anyone else.

When we had his dentist appt 2 weeks ago, he was very scared that she would make his teeth silver (who told him that?!), and I assured him that wouldn't happen. :(


This afternoon, after his mouth returns to normal and the medicine wears off, we are headed to the library to see if ZZ was one of the reading contest winners. We read 100 books! Actually, he read about 15 of those on his own. He is reading very well. In fact, TOO well. I missed a word last night and got corrected. (this was a brand new library book, not one he had ever read before) Gone are the days of cheating my way through a book to make it done faster....



Hope everyone has a blessed week!

**UPDATE**

Just got back from the dentist. She "painted a Star Wars star onto a special tooth." He was absolutely amazing - he never made any kind of fuss and stayed super still the whole time, and he was so excited to get his special star. Even more exciting that no one can see it... he's the only one who knows where it is. The girls in the office told us that he was one of their best little patients. We were so proud of him.

On the way out the door, he tells us:
I'm really a big boy now. I have hair on my legs AND a star on my tooth.

Classic.