It's a...

GIRL!! :) & we are naming her Anna Grace :) & I'm pretty sure that she wants these from here :)

& maybe this when she is a little older...



Don't they make you happy?

I was totally convinced that we were going to be blessed with another little boy..but no, God has decided that a little baby girl would be perfect for #3! & Alan and I couldnt be more thrilled :)

Yeah, Chase! Tell me I'm pretty! :)

This morning while I was getting dressed, I could hear Chase not being very nice to his sister.. Chase was calling Ansleigh names (4 yr. old cut downs like, "You're a monkey!" or "You're a baby!").

I told Chase that we dont call each other ugly names, and that he had to call Ansleigh 5 nice names.
Ansleigh quickly responds with, "Yeah Chase! Tell me I'm pretty!" :)

I think I'll have to use that discipline method in the future because it KILLED Chase to call his sister sweet, nice, PRETTY, funny and a "good girl"(especially since Ansleigh was so obviously eating it up!).



Baby update: So far, so good! I'm 15 weeks today and I can feel little baby flutters:) My morning sickness is gone and I'm eating everything (and I'm loving hot sauce!) We went to the dr. two weeks ago for another ultrasound and the baby looked perfect:) I go back on Dec. 12 for genetic screening and then a week before Christmas we'll find out what the baby is :) Alan and I are both thinking boy :)

Fridays are for..

baking! The kiddos and I made some yummy pumpkin muffins this morning:) Super easy recipe and very dee-wicious (as Ansleigh says)!

Pumpkin Muffins

1 box of Spice cake mix
1 can of pumpkin
1/2 cup of chopped pecans

Mix all and pour into muffin pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. How easy is that?!

Updates :)

Chase has been into dressing himself lately. He'll go to sleep during naptime in one outfit, and wake up in something totally different. This is what he wanted to where to Church last Wednesday night:) He lost that battle ;) Ansleigh update: NO MORE PACI! There was awhile there that I thought for sure she would still have her paci in Kindergarten.She was way more attatched to it then Chase was (he gave his up at 18 months).  She would have it constantly during the day and HAD to have it while she slept. The other day at naptime, we were down to 3 pacis and I couldnt find any of them anywhere. After Ansleigh and I looked for them for 10 minutes, I told her that paci went bye-bye and it was time for her to take a nap. She didnt fuss (but didnt nap either) and was so tired that night that she went to sleep without it. And she has only asked for it a couple of times since:) Yay Ansleigh! Baby update: I went to the dr. today for some complications that I've been having. Turned out that everything is fine and I even got another ultrasound of the little gummy bear (which is a really big gummy bear now!). The heartbeat was 170 (it was 124 bpm at the last visit)--still one of the sweetest sounds ever:) So high heartbeat, craving fruit, horrible morning sickness=girl? :) I'm 9 weeks now and feeling GREAT! My morning sickness is over and I have my energy back:) so thankful for that! I'm also eating EVERYTHING and even though I've lost weight, I cant button my jeans:) Definatley poking out earlier with this 3rd pregnancy. Whoever invented the rubber band trick is a genius:)

A prayer answered

Three hours since my latest OB appointment and I am still shaking:) I have been a nervous wreck all day long in anticipation for today's appointment. This appointment was set up last week to see if their was any improvement in the gestational sac. At our appointment last week, my Dr. said that he was pretty sure that I was having anembryonic miscarriage (or blighted ovum). He patted my leg and said, "I need for you to think about some really hard things over the course of the next few days. I need for you to think about whether you want a D&C, to miscarry on your own, or I can give you a pill that will speed up the process." Friday was supposed to be my day to have a D&C, but at the last minute we decided that we should wait one more week to see if (by a miracle!) things progressed.

 I left devestated that day. I was only 6 weeks and a couple of days, my beta levels were super high, my progesterone level was super low, and nothing was showing up the gestational sac (besides the yolk sac)

So today Alan went with me so I could get the last ultrasound done. I went into the room, shaking like crazy, and laid on the table. The sonographer (who was super sweet) turned the moniter away from me, not that she needed to because I couldnt bare to look anway.

I looked at Alan to read his expression, and it remianed blank. Slowly, slowly the songrapher turned the moniter towards me. And there, on the screen, was the sweetest looking gummy bear that I've ever seen. Uncontrollable tears ran down my face, and no matter how hard I tried to stifle my sobs, I couldnt. Pure relief, pure joy, pure thankfulness flooded my heart.

"Does the baby have a heartbeat?"
"Yep. Listen!" and the sonographer played  the sweetest sounds of 124 bpm.

My Dr., Alan and I were in complete shock at the sight of that sweet little baby. The three of us were looking towards Friday for a D&C, but it looks like God had other plans:)

The Dr. says that I'm not out of the woods just yet. I still have to take my progesterone pills and take it easy, but my otherwise my levels are looking normal.

Such a good day, such a wonderful day! So thankful. So relieved. I cant even tell you how many times that i've said those words tonight.

Thank you for Bob the Tomato..

Today's little incident blessed my heart so much:) I want to write it down so i don't forget it..

Today I had a million and one errands to run. The first stop was at Kid to Kid to drop off some of last years clothes. While waiting for them to go through the clothes, I let Ansleigh and Chase play in the closed off "kid area". In the kid area they have a little kitchen with play food and a little table with chairs. Ansleigh LOVES the kitchen (in fact, I think we're gonna have to get her one for Christmas- I think she would spend hours playing with it-just like I did when I was little)

She was so cute to watch, playing in that little kitchen:) She would microwave the bananas, offer Chase a hamburger patty that she called a "cookie", and she even told Chase to "go sit" 'cause she was cookin'--just like a little mama:)

Chase did talk her into letting him play with a cucumber and a tomato (the "tomato" was actually a bellpepper, but I couldnt convince him otherwise) so he could play "VeggieTales". I really wish that I would have gotten that on video- that kid was singing as LOUD as he could possibly sing, probably annoying/amusing every customer in Kid to Kid :)

After they both were done singing and cooking, Ansleigh told Chase to sit because they were about to have "Wunch" (lunch). Ansleigh sets the table (with every banana, pot, pan, cup, truck, doll, etc) and joins Chase.
They both folded their little hands and Chase prays, "Lord, thank you Lord, for this meal Lord. Lord, thank you for mama and daddy, Lord. Thank you for ansleigh, and nana, and dada, and ree, and trapper, and for Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber. Amen"

& then with the biggest grins they both proceed to eat their "meal" of microwave banana;)

so thankful for those two sweet kids :) and so thankful that they are learning the importance of prayer--and the importance of thanking God-even for Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber :)

We love Fall! (Steed's Dairy)

Our family loves fall! We usually jam pack our weekends with fun fallish things for our family to do during October and November. But, I needed a little cheering up this week, so Alan jump started our fall festivities by taking us out to Steed's Dairy tonight.We had a blast :)

First, we started off on the hay ride (chasey's favorite!)

Chase learned about dairy cows:)

Ansleigh was over the cows, so we played in Noah's Ark..

after the ark (and the cows) they played in the corn box...

got lost for 30 minutes (in the dark) in the corn maze..

and fed the pony:) (video coming soon!)

As we were getting lost in the corn maze (which seemed way longer than 30 mins), I was reminded of the preciousness of my children and how blessed I am to have two beautiful, healthy kids! I am so,so thankful for my little family :)

Homemade Tomato Soup

One crazy thing about all of this pregnancy craziness is that I still have all the symptoms/signs of the first trimester of pregnancy-including morning sickness/food repulsion. I occasionally will want Mexican food or caramel apples REALLY bad, but mostly I cant STAND the sight/smell of food. A friend gave me this recipe for tomato soup and its SO GOOD! Its actually something that I want (and I'm shocked because its full of flavors-something that I'm  not into right now) It takes awhile to make, but well worth it :)

Homemade Tomato Soup (2 servings)

-4 cups of chopped tomatos (I used Roma!)
-2 cups of broth (I used chicken)
-4 whole cloves of garlic
-fresh basil (I used dried!)
-1 whole onion sliced
-2 tbsp of butter
-2 tsbp of flour
-salt, pepper and sugar to taste

In large pot, over medium heat, throw in tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, and broth. Bring to a boil for 20 minutes to combine flavors. When done, puree soup in blender and then transfer to bowl. In the same large pot, make a roux with the butter and flour. Gradually add soup. Season with salt, pepper, and sugar to taste.

To make soup creamier, just add cream/milk to your liking:) Pretty easy recipe and really good! Let me know if you try it:)

Because You are much greater than my pain..

I am SO THANKFUL for everyone that has called me, texted me, facebooked me, wrote me sweet, encouraging messages through my fb inbox and hotmail. It has lifted me up today and I REALLY needed it!

Yesterday evening I started bleeding and went to the ER. They checked me, did an ultrasound, and bloodwork. All of my test came back good (My HCG level went from 5,900 to 19,000 since Thursday), but they discharged me with a "threatned miscarriage" and told me that I needed to rest.

This morning I went in for my OB post-ER check up to do an ultrasound. The sonographer told me that although there is a yolk sac, there was no baby. My Dr. told me that he was pretty sure that I was miscarrying, because my HCG levels were high enough that there should be a baby. He wants me to come back in Thursday for more beta-tests and another ultrasound. If no baby, and if my HCG levels decrease, then I will have a D&C on Friday.

This was not the news that I wanted to hear or the ultrasound that I wanted to see..

So even though Thursday may bring some more bad news or maybe (hopefully!) even good news,  I have peace in KNOWING that His will is perfect and that His plan is flawless. And that God is good! All the time:) I'll be updating soon..

This song has been playing in my head all day--

Birthday Party

Today we had Chase's fourth birthday party at Monkey Joes. Let me tell you, Monkey Joes is the way to go! For a packaged price, they provided icecream, juice boxes for kids, pitchers of soft drinks for the adults, napkins, plates, forks and spoon, set up and clean up and if I chose to they would have provided pizza, gift bags, and balloons. It was great not being stressed out and just being able to mingle with my friends and enjoy my son's birthday:) Here are a few pics!

Chase is FOUR! (& a new blog+ prayer request)

This might just be my tenth blog that I've started. I always have the best of intentions when I start a blog, but then life gets hectic and the blog gets put on the back burner and then I completely forget about it..only to remember 6 months later that I created it:)

I.am.going.to.TRY.my.BEST. to stick with this new blog. I feel like we are beginning a new chapter in our lives and I want to record as much of it as I can

So, I'll start with today.

Today is Chasey's FOURTH birthday! It seems like just yesterday that I woke up on Sunday morning and realized that I was having contractions, decided that I needed to get a porkchop biscuit from Bojangles ASAP (because it would probably be the last that I would have for awhile), vaccum my car out between contractions, attempt to go grocery shopping (I walked into Bilo, had a BIG contraction, decided that I didnt want to have my baby in Bilo, and walked back out) and then went back home to vaccum my house when my water broke. Woke up Alan, headed off to the hospital (and of course, Alan HAD to stop to get himself a drink on the way- and of course I have not yet let him live it down), and became a mother around 7 that night :0)

September 23, 2007 still remains my favorite day. Yes, my wedding day and Ansleigh's birthday is in the top three of the most amazing days ever, but on September 23, 2007 I became a mother.

So today, we took Tucker-butt to Red Robin for lunch and then let him play at McDonalds (which to him was a big treat). Tomorrow will be his birthday party at Monkey Joes. And for the friends that were worried about Monkey Joe freaking out their kids- I called this morning and told them that the big purple monkey was not invited. :)

So for those that don't know yet- WE'RE PREGNANT! :0) I am totally thrilled about this pregnancy. I've always wanted three kiddos, and have had baby fever for awhile now-I was just waiting for God's timing:)
So, I'm embarrassed to admit that I am super early..like, 5 weeks 3 days early :) I found out that I was pregnant at 3 weeks 3 days..and so this is going to make for the longest pregnancy ever!

I am not one of those moms that can wait until they are out of the first trimester to announce their big news. Nope, with every pregnancy I have announced as soon as the double line appeared.

But friends- I need prayers! Yesterday I had my first ob appointment. It was my first appointment with the new doctor, so they mainly did bloodtest (check beta HCG and progesterone) and a "meet and greet".
This morning the nurse called me to tell me that even though my HCG was great, my progesterone level was a little low. She said that they weren't overly concerned, but to be on the safe side I have to take progesterone supplements until I'm out of the first trimester. Scary! So please say a little prayer for this sweet little life that I'm carrying. I would appreciate it:)