spud vs tater tot?

so last week was avocado and this week potato... need i say more? the only two things i have craved have been summed up in week 16 & 17 and look at the combination i found: hmm i might just have to try this combination!!!



6 1/2 inches long from head to rump and 5ish oz.

so the nicknames this week are spud and tater-tot.

Eli's comment today as i took a picture to send Chris "Mama you need new car SOON, that baby is getting BIG" he knows we are going to get a new van... and im not going to rage against the mini-van, im embracing my love for being a mother. dont worrry one day you will understand (you know who you are)! but we just cant buy the van until we close on our house. he is convienced we are gettin a sienna from jim hudson toyota and reminds me every time we drive by.

17 weeks down 19-21 more weeks to go... almost half way! wooohoo

how do i feel?
- i still throw up, but i dont mind hugging the toilet because it is a reminder that the baby is still healthy. so i dont complain
- i have already for a few weeks started having contractions
- my scatia nerve hurts pretty bad
- my belly is HUGE and officially is ITCHY

how do i feel outside of pregnancy... thats a whole nother post of my insane 2 weeks of nannying, moving, and house parenting all back to back!!!

16 weeks

little one moves around all the time, has ears that can actually hear us now, has fingernails & toenails, and is working on eye lashes, eyebrows (hopefully not daddy's), and possibly hair.

funny thing about being the size of an avocado is i have been craving avocados the whole pregnancy. just looking up the picture to post made me want to get in my car and go buy one. but i resisted the craving.

old snow day

these pictures were from when it snowed while we had h1n1 and were cooped up in our house for over a week. i finally let Eli go out and enjoy the snow when it was a good 50 degrees and he was much much better. somehow i never downloaded these pictures, but they were too cute to not show! i love this boys creative mind, innovative spirit, and love for hot chocolate. the way he says it with an accent melts my heart every time!

Multitude Monday

16) the warmth of sunshine
17) starting the building process of our new house
18) dr's practice who goes the extra mile for their patients
19) Lauren, who let me come as i was (in my pj's) to chit-chat and catch up
20) breakfast bagels with Jenni

Thanksgiving Thursday

this week has been very stressful and overwhelming. my life lately feels like im wondering in the desert with no end in sight.

Wrecking Ball by Jill Philips
Just when my tears were falling deep enough to drown
Down in the valley of the shadow of a doubt
When I gave up that's when He came to lift me out and set me high
When I saw it as a gift of matchless worth
I started thinking it was something I deserved
He pulled the rug from underneath without a word and left me dry
Piece together these little mysteries
It isn't hard to see the writing on the wall
Triumph and tragedy, only God can be
Both the builder and the wrecking ball
He gave them freedom and a fertile promise land
They took for granted their deliverance at hand
Thirty-nine years later they're still walking through that sand
Wondering why
And He builds it up
And He knocks it down
Just to build it up even stronger

in the midst of my week that broke me down to puddles of tears, frustration, and fear, He built me up with peace and encouragement today...

1) peace having to go to a different ob dr

2) my dr had his office manager send a formal request to keep me in the practice even though they are not taking my insurance (it would be a 3 month extension to their current contract)

3) city hall approved our house... footings start monday (they only made us change two very small things)

4) Chris has a place to stay, an entire house to himself, rent free

5) perspective... my kids are healthy, active, growing, at home with me

prayer request... my perspective was rocked today as a dear friend, my former English teacher, is facing a much more challenging week... preparing for the mission field, support raised, in pre-field training, they were sent home early due to their little girl being sick... come to find out she is really really sick... at 7 months old she was diagnosed with leukemia on monday and started chemo today. please pray for Georgia and her whole family as they walk out this journey. i pray for healing, quick recovery, and that the Lord uses this trial for His glory.

funniest fan

so when eli was about 18 months til 2 ish he called all fans an ass. here is a little video i found. hilarious and will make your day. no we did not teach him, encourage him, or endorse the big a$$ fan company wish i would have known about them, maybe we could have made our millions.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

so life is crazy... my birthday is at the end of the month and right amidst me nannying the week leading up to our move. with packing needing to be done and ingredients still sitting on my shelves and being pregnant and craving chocolate i decided to make my birthday cake early. ironically on sunday i was in walmart for way too long and forgot powdered sugar... key ingredient to buttercream (with a touch of cream cheese) icing so i froze the cakes.

today i acted like a big girl, didnt boo hoo too much to my dr, whom i have grown to trust for the last 9 years due to the many complications and times i have seen him, not to mention that he was the hands that God used to saved Eli's life (in one of the worst deliveries). but with his help, i have chosen another dr in another practice.

i also faced a huge emotional hurdle today by visiting my baby nephew, Timothy, in the hospital. challenging, difficult, heart-wrenching, overwhelming, personally sad because Jeb's due date was just around the corner as our due dates were less than 2 weeks apart. obviously he is precious and cute and tiny and a little bundle of joy, but there is a real part of my heart that still aches, still hurts, still misses my baby... and being pregnant doesnt take those feelings away, although im super excited about my new baby.

i have been an emotional basket case to say the least this week... today i had much more peace and i appreciate all of your prayers and words of encouragement. because i faced today with a different attitude, i treated myself to my birthday cake. pulled it out of the freezer, made the icing, with the help of 4 little hands tried to cover up the pieces of cake they ate and the holes they put in the icing.

a few days ago we painted my best childhood friend of 22 years and counting birthday cards to be sent to africa along with a couple presents. i dont recall mentioning that Rachel's birthday is the same day as mine, but tonight when i pulled out the cake Eli kept calling it Rachel Ray's cake and said that his favorite baby Eli and Ellie needed to taste it too... he was so persistent that we lit candles and sang to Rachel Ray... so since im celebrating all month, my dearest friend i love you and want to celebrate your birthday all month too!

dont laugh too hard at our horrible singing voices... this shows love that chris and i are publicly singing.

words of encouragement

"you will feel a lot better when you stop trying to do everything the way you want it to be and just be content with what God has given you and His will for your life"

simple enough advice i know, but these words have brought me so much peace today amidst a HORRIBLE day/last few days.

thank you friend...

Multitude Monday

My dear friend, Julie, who is now serving the Lord 1/2 way around the world has encouraged me by her weekly posts of thankfulness. Despite the difficulties to find God's hand in the situation even when it is not pretty. The challenge is to write and share 1,000 things you are grateful to God for. Maybe over a few weeks. Maybe a few months. The timetable is up to you. When you get to 1,000 you start over. The point of blogging (or finding another way to share) your thank-yous is to encourage and build up your community.

I have put this off for a while and each week I say I will start next week, but I have not... so here it goes

LORD I thank You for...
1. Levi's compassion in rubbing my back as I throw up each day
2. Chris' hard work to provide for our family
3. Eli's energy because it means he can run, play, be all boy
4. A great cup of coffee this morning with homemade vanilla icecream, after a rough night of little sleep
5. Reunited friends from college, Sarah & Anna and their sons Hudson & Titus
6. G-chat with Rachel and even being able to call her in Uganda
7. the rain to bring in the color green
8. peaceful, authentic music that draws me to my Savior
9. throwing up, because it means my little baby is healthy
10. chick-fil-a french fries (which are about the only thing I crave)