Stinky Face & His Cars

This boy LOVE his cars! Here he is with over 215 of his cars. These don't include any off brand cars or Disney cars. To motivate him to eat new foods, behave well, and do great on his school work, I find cars on sale and add them to the treasure box and he earns one each day that he behaves great. I know I can't keep this up forever, but for now it's something that we all enjoy. He can't wait for Daddy to get home so he can tell him how good he was all day and then he runs upstairs to pick out a new car.

Letters To My Baby ~ #11

This is a 4D picture of you when I was 6 months pregnant. I'm so amazed at how far technology has come in the last 13 years. When I was pregnant with your biggest brother, I could barely even make out his profile images.



Your daddy thought you looked grumpy in this picture so he said, "Stop being so grumpy". Then look what happened..........











It looks like you actually cracked a smile!









I think you have your daddy's lips and chin (also the same as Stinky Face). The rest of your face looks like a nice mix between me and your oldest brother. It's so hard to tell though. I'm really just guessing. Regardless of who you look like, I think you are absolutely precious.You are perfect!

Here is a profile picture. This is how you love to lay. Your head is down on my right side and your legs are up over your head. My right side feels a LOT of action since I often feel your hands AND your feet. Hang in there a little bit longer my sweet, sweet boy. I'll be holding you in my arms in no time!

Stinky Face ~ My Little Dare Angel

This is my Stinky Face's newest trick. Normally I would've freaked out and told him to not do that anymore, but he is wearing a helmet and he is a boy. I'm trying really hard to let him grow up a little bit and have fun. He enjoyed this so much. He did it over and over for at least half an hour. I can't wait for the weather to warm up so we can enjoy the outdoors more.

Letters To My Baby ~ #10

Wow! Not much longer and you will be considered full term. I cannot wait to meet you, even though I still feel so unprepared. We finally bought a couple boxes of diaper and some wipes. You also have some cute new clothes. My wonderful friends are hosting a baby shower for us next month. I'm so humbled to have friends like them.

I finally figured out how to get some sleep, although I feel so guilty about it. Although my doctor has approved and reassured me that it wouldn't effect you, I still feel bad but it's the only way I'm able to sleep. I have been taking Magnesium supplements, Tylenol, and Benedryl each night before going to sleep. This has helped me to go from waking up every half hour to an hour, to sleeping all through the night except for one trip to the bathroom and I haven't had anymore leg cramps. I've also been sleeping in the recliner with a heating pad on my legs. It's amazing, the difference I feel. I'm also making sure to stay real hydrated each day.

Your movements are stronger than ever. You're going to be one tough boy! I see the doctor again in 2 days. Although I feel you moving around all the time, I still look forward to hearing your heart beating. You get hiccups a lot. Sometimes they're so fast, that I wonder if it's hiccups or something else; although I don't know what else it could be.

If I take it easy, I don't have many contractions. But the moment I start doing more, they really pick up and I find myself timing contractions and wondering if I'll have to go back to the hospital. I still have complete peace. Everything is going to be great! You have a calling on your life; a mighty calling. God will use you to do great things. The first great thing you will do is change our lives. You will remind us again about the simple things in life, like a baby's smile and that wonderful newborn smell. I love you so much! Counting down the days until I hold you in my arms.

STOP TRYING TO FIGURE IT ALL OUT

Why are we always working so hard to try and figure everything out on our own? Will we ever learn that this isn't the way God intended it to be?

Let me give you some examples:

Bills ~ How will we pay them? There's more money that needs to go out than what we are bringing in. So what do we do? We spends hours, days, even months of our time creating plans that will either earn us extra income or decrease our living expenses. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. The Bible is full of verses that speak about using wisdom when it comes to money. But when it becomes an all-consuming thing and fear takes over, that's bad!

Work ~ What does God want me to be doing with my life? How can I get there? I'm afraid to take this leap. What if I don't like this new job? It just doesn't seem as secure as the one I have now. What if I don't get along with the other workers? Will this take too much time away from my family? What if it causes me to miss church? What if I fail?

Pregnancy ~ Will I ever get pregnant? I'll try everything I can. I want a baby so bad. Is something wrong with me? Is it my husband? Oh wow, there's a miracle inside of me. Wait, how are we going to afford this? What if something goes wrong? God don't let me lose this baby. Don't let me have a c-section. I want it this way!

Parenting ~ Another baby...how can I love it as much as I love the others? Protect them as they sleep God! Are they getting enough food? Am I feeding them too much junk? Don't let them ever get sick God. How can someone I love so much make me so angry? How can I control the anger? Private school, public school, or homeschool? I just can't handle this anymore. Are you sure this is what You want God? Wow, they grow up so fast! When do I have "the talk"? What will they be when they grow up? I pray that they will always keep you in their lives God. Protect them!

Relationships ~ Will I ever have real friend? God, I'm so lonely! What if I offend her? How could someone so close to me hurt me so badly? Save my lost family members God! Protect them!

Friends, I've experienced every one of these situations and there's a good chance that you have experienced many of them yourself. But the truth is, we need to stop living our lives like this. Trying to figure it all out on our own only leads to worry. Relax! God has had your best interests in mind since the time He thought of you. We know that His plans are to prosper us and give us hope!

I'm speaking to myself today. I've been feeling very unprepared with our 3rd baby on the way. I've been worrying about contractions and preterm labor, even though in the depths of my heart, I know my baby and I are going to be just fine. I want it a certain way! I want to have my house completely ready for him. But the truth is, I just can't do it.

But here's God's truth and what I want you to get today: Proverbs 19:21 (MSG) says, "We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but God's purpose prevails".

It doesn't matter what you are facing today. GOD has a plan for you and it is His plan that will prevail. So, why waste anymore time trying to figure it all out? Just sit back, breathe, and let His peace come over you. Tell Him, "Your will, not mine. I give it to You, God." He already resolved your issues and He's already given you the resources to do everything that He wants you to accomplish. Follow His lead and let go of what you cannot handle or control.

Be blessed my friends!

BURGER DOGS

I really wanted a cheeseburger for dinner, but we didn't have any hamburger buns and I really dislike burgers on plain bread, so we got a little creative. This is a picture of our "burger dogs". My husband seasoned the ground beef and rolled it up into the shape of a hot dog and then cooked it. They shriveled up so much that we actually had to put two "dogs" in each bun. then he cut one of my ginormous pickles into long slices and added that in with the other toppings that we had. It turned out great! Although it tasted really good, I still prefer the ground beef on hamburger buns, so this time when I went grocery shopping, I made sure to pick some up. 

Be blessed my friends!