Who does he look like?

so basically everyone from day one has questioned who Levi looks like... well for the first 9 months he looked JUST like my dad. I still see my dad in him, but while spending time at my parents house I found this picture...and now i have to say he looks JUST like me!

20 weeks

so im a week late... but here are. the ultrasound pictures are terrible due to the fact that stubborn little steyne decided to be laying with his/her feet above their head and squirming all over the place while positioned transverse (sideways) in utero (which is the most favorite position of this little one... never head down always breech or transverse). there is a potential problem called "prenatal hydronephrosis" which refers to dilation of the renal collecting system. The collecting system is the structure that collects urine directly from the kidney tissue and routes it by way of the ureter to the bladder. we are told not to worry too much as there is nothing that can be done til after the baby is born, it is pretty common, and although it runs in the family, there is not anything we can do and He is in control, so we wait... but we at least get another ultra sound out of the deal. hopefully the little one will cooperate and give us a cute picture!

Inspiring role models!

VIDEO: Twietmeyers on the Today Show

Happy Gotcha Day

my cousin Tara and her husband Brad are meeting their precious new little bundle of joy aka the cutest Ethiopian cousin i have ever laid my eyes on. for months he has been the picture my phone displays. my boys ask to look at him daily. we pray for him constantly. and finally, the day in the journey where they meet him and hold him for the first time has arrived. i awoke in the middle of the night praying for them... and wala, as if i expected any different, its the EXACT time they are holding him for the first time! WOOO HOOO CONGRATULATIONS Tara & Brad

Jebediah Willow

3-18-2011 was your due date
7-18-2010 you left this earth
8 months have passed by, but not a day goes by that you are not remembered
although you were not born today, this day will always be your special day
i love you Jebediah Williow
no baby will ever replace you!

dream

"There’s something to be said for patience
So hold on to what you know is sacred
Don’t let your only dream be taken
And cashed in for everything you’ve hated"

- Jill Phillips, Sacred

patience is hard... makes my heart hurt, makes me frustrated, makes me sad, makes me mad

i know, beyond a shaddow of doubt, that God did not put my passion for Africa in my heart 23 years ago for nothing...

i pray, dream, hope, wish, desire, yearn, long, burden, ache for africa (all encompassed many aspects into one simple word... africa)

everything i have hated... the american dream... yet i feel like my life is the american dream a husband, 3 kids, 2 dogs, a house we are building, a mini-van to be, and the average church.

im so sick of the mundaneness in my life... there is SOOO much more to life than what im living, whats going on in the little bubble around me

the purpose in life as a Christian is to advance the Gospel to the ends of the Earth... what am i doing about it?

thankful tuesday

so im totally behind... not that i have not been thankful but life has been chaotic to say the least. lets see if i can catch up a bit

21) numbing medicine & a dr on scene of Eli's accident
22) blessings of a monetary gift
23) new britax booster/car seat for Eli (old booster/carseat hurt his back) with $
24) paying off a debt!
25) using extra money to pay for all of my 17p shots and learning that the cost was going up from $15 to $1500 and being able to still get them at $15 per shot
26) baby kicks and hiccups
27) Eli's heart for Africa... when asked if he wants a brother or sister he says brother because sister is in Africa! (unprompted!)
28) cell phones to be able to text and talk to Chris while away
29) computers so we can see the progress of our new house
30) sunshine and warmer weather
31) 22 month old adorableness
32) learning to knit
33) online sermons... current series on acts from church of brook hills
34) Dr a few houses down who is willing to give me my weekly shots
35) figuring out my gallbladder triggers are: beans, nuts, eggs, and too much dairy
36) chick-fil-a playground as a fun distraction and way to get out of the House
37) all the construction going on around us to keep my boys happy
38) the joy that trash trucks bring my boys... tomorrow will be a fun morning for them
39) not having to cook or make sure the house is picked up or i look put together cause its just me, as Chris is in columbia
40) friends who check up on me
41) my parents who were a huge help in the ER and took us to mcdonalds as Eli's treat for being good
42) for Merrie Jo and our daily chats
43) tickle-time
44) Levi now saying "Hug me"... he has the bestest hugs of the family!
45) that God is STILL in control despite the earthquake, nuclear exposure, tsunami, wars, chaos worldwide

single motherhood

the last few days have been a bit rough... horrible allergies
- sat = over 50 intense contractions
- sun = 4 hour er visit and 5 stitches and boys only sleeping 8 hours instead of 12
- mon = very fussy boys with bad attitudes due to little sleep and no naps
- tues = horrible headache, recovery day of sleep, and fun outing to chick-fil-a
- wed = praying for more patience, better attitudes, obedience and less allergy issues

we sure miss daddy... i hate being the only one to discipline and the boys are tired of me always correcting them.

my champ!

while on a walk we ran into an old friend who lives down the street from my parents... its the pastor who my dad works with daughter. we were catching up while my kids played in her yard, and Mr Eli slipped and fell on the metal electrical hub sticking out of the ground. he split his chin. now let me preface the story...

the said friend is about 10 years older than me, so we have never been close friends. i just met her husband for the first time and finding out that he is a Dr asked if he could give me my weekly p17 injections, and to top off our introduction he got to bandage my little one up.

on the flip side his numbing medicine was amazing for Eli. surprisingly my child who does NOT do band aids and freaks out at the sight of blood was pretty calm. they helped us walk Blair back to the house and clean up the boys before sending us to the emergency room. thankfully we were met there by my parents... Babu took Levi on walks, ate snacks, and talked to the paramedics, while Meme and i kept Eli occupied.

They celebrated st patricks day down here on Sunday, so the tiny hospital was hoping with an incarcerated man who swallowed drugs, a girl who was 33 weeks who delivered, 7 ambulances, and all rooms were occupied, so our measly 5 stitches were on the bottom of the totem poll during the shift change of course!

here is Eli while we waited to be seen (numbing medicine worked great)


waiting patiently in our room


getting more numbing medicine


waiting with numbing medicine on his chin


after the stitches aka his awesome whiskers!


by the GRACE of God Eli sat perfectly still the entire time he was being stitched up! now remember this child takes after the Steyne men who do NOT know how to sit still to save their lives~

view from here

last week i was blessed with a check for far more than i ever imagined and while talking with a friend i asked if i should return the money or if i should count it as God's little blessing. after praying about it i concluded that He was in control and was providing in ways i never dreamed.

fast forward to this week... while researching about the 17p injection to help prevent from having a preemie due to my history of preterm labor and already having had contractions this go around for over a month i randomly put the question out on a mommy forum that i sporadically read. i cant stop thanking Jesus and the ladies who had quick responses... evidently due to some pharmaceutical changes only one company will be allowed to compound the drug starting at the end of the month which is spiking the cost from $15 a shot to $1500 a shot and most insurance companies will no longer be covering the cost. after a couple of phone calls to my ob office and talking with two nurses and two doctors and three pharmacies i have my prescription for ALL 17 doses.

back to the blessing in the form of cash... the amount "extra" was exactly the amount i needed to pay for my shots today! the Lord knew exactly what He was doing even well before i had any clue.

the view from here... mid-contraction

beautiful day

qualities

i have not been the most kindhearted, sweet talking, encouraging, loving wife... the built up stress has made me lash out at chris more times than i would like to even think to admit. i needed to make it up to him in some way... so babe i sat down and thought of all sorts of qualities that i love about you... mind you its late and some letters are difficult. i do love you even though my words have not shown it lately. please forgive me

Adventurous
Burly
Charming
Determined
Eager
Forgiving
Gifted
Hardworking
Important
Jazzy
Keen
Lyrical
Manly
Neat
Opptomistic
Patient
Quirky
Rustic
Steadfast
Trusting
Unique
Vigorous
Whimsical
(e)Xuberant
Youthful
Zealous

dont give up

after a stressful few days/weeks i just feel like quitting. not motivated to do anything. im DONE. i have no more patience, effort, energy, or time for anything else or even the important things on my plate like my marriage, my kids, my relationship with Christ. im spent. im exhausted. im stressed. i dont feel good. im discouraged.

i quit.

after a heart to heart conversation that left me feeling even more discouraged, upset, down. i opened my computer to look up some verses, but first felt led to look at my google reader... and clicked on my friend Katy's blog. and it was EXACTLY what i needed to hear!!! i have since re-read these verses as i had time waiting for some of the kids to be done with school and in the quiet of the evening after my boys were in bed. thank you Jesus for leading me to these verses.


Galatians 6:9 (The Message)

9-10 So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.

Hebrews 12 (The Message)

1-3 Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

4-11 In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don't feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?

My dear child, don't shrug off God's discipline,
but don't be crushed by it either.
It's the child he loves that he disciplines;
the child he embraces, he also corrects.
God is educating you; that's why you must never drop out. He's treating you as dear children. This trouble you're in isn't punishment; it's training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God's training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God's holy best. At the time, discipline isn't much fun. It always feels like it's going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it's the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.

12-13 So don't sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it!

14-17 Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you'll never get so much as a glimpse of God. Make sure no one gets left out of God's generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time. Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God's lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God's blessing—but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.