June 16, 2015

Thank you all for your kind words, encouragement and most of all your prayers. I am so glad we serve a living God. I am still hurting physically (sometimes are worse than others), I still have more to do than I am capable, and the situations causing stress have not changed. BUT I am much more at peace about the whole thing. I feel like I've come up for air somehow even though nothing has really changed. Not sure I can really explain it except to say I have been comforted. Please continue to pray. I can't wait to share how God uses all this for His glory when the time comes. 

Swim lessons have been going great. William is loving being in the "big bears" class by himself and he is growing into a more confident swimmer each day. He is learning to go underwater by himself, swim on his back and is working on learning to stroke with his arms. Robert is also a little fish. he paddles around (with me holding him) with no fear and tons of anticipation. He knows how to monkey crawl, climb in and out of the pool, god underwater, and reach in front for him and kick to move forward. What smart boys I have!

Little Gym for the summer has started up. We are scheduled for Tuesdays, but sure to swim lessons last week and this week, we are doing class on Fridays. That means that William is in the sports class instead of his regular gym class. This last week they were doing Hockey! William learned to hold a stick, how to do a slap shot, how to block a goal and a ton of other hockey skills. He was so proud and so was his daddy when I sent a picture. Robert moved up to the "beasts" class. He fits right in with the bigger kids. As his teacher said, "Robert was kinda born a beast. He's got skills." 

Saturday we were up in Dalllas for the Elliot/Thweatt family reunion (my mothers' side). The boys got to swim and eat way too many sweets, and they had a little "sprinkle" for Hannah. She got a bunch of her nursery items. I'm so excited. Thanks Aunt Bup for hosting! It was so fun!

So, a couple weeks back the boys had Fifth disease, which isn't a big deal for them as the symptoms are super mild. I had it when I was young so I should be immune. That being said, when I told my doctor about it, she told me it is possible I could get reinfected and sent me both for a blood test and ultrasound. Even if I got it again, the chances are low that Hannah could be infected, and even if she got infected, chances are that it won't do anything to her, especially considering how far along she is in development. BUT there is a very very small chance that this disease can do a lot of damage to unborn babies. So, I did the blood test on last Thursday and I go in for my ultrasound on this Friday. The odds of anything being wrong are so low, that I'm not really worried about it, but I am looking forward to seeing Hannah. So pray for me, that I will continue to be calm. I don't think anything is wrong, but it is good to confirm. 

That's all I got for now. Till next time! 

June 9, 2015

The End of Me

That's what I've reached. If you want to hear the general update on the kids, skip down below. Otherwise read on. I've reached my limit, both physically and emotionally. Things that we thought would run smoothly have not. We are still not sure how they are going to be resolved (or even if they willl be resolved). All the physical tasks I have (yes, I really have) to do are becoming too much for me. Stress has been running high and I've run out of juice. But that's ok. Because I can't be it all, but God can. My joint pain has come early this pregnancy. I over did it on Thursday and had contractions all night Thursday and during the day Friday. Since then every movement hurts more than the last. I caught myself taking deep breaths to even bend down and put the laundry away because I was anticipating the pain. I have no clue how I will make it through the next 7 weeks with all I have to do. But that's ok. There is a Healer and His name is Jesus. I don't have control, but He does. My hormones are all over the place, in part due to to the stress of being in pain and of not being able to sleep. Satan is picking at old wounds, causing me to cry over things long ago restored and left behind.  I feel like a raw ball of nerves. But it's ok, I know the Victor, and it is not the accuser. I am having to remind myself of these truths constantly as I feel very much under attack right now. I thought about keeping this post private, but I want to share so you can know how to pray for me. Please pray I will find strength in and relief from the pain that will likely intensify as the weeks progress until Hannah comes. Please pray that we will find peace in what ever God has for us in the coming days as we see His plans unfold (and that we would have the wisdom to act as required). Please pray that my hormones and emotions would not control my thoughts or my actions. It's good I've reached the end of my own strength. Perhaps it's the only way I can fully rely on Him and give Him the glory in my circumstance. I appreciate your prayers more than you know.

And now back to our regularly scheduled program. The boys are doing great! William is becoming very vocal on everything. And he has a memory like a steel trap. Don't try and fool him because he will call you on it every time. The wheels are always turning and his questions are getting increasingly difficult to answer. He wants to know why and how everything works. I've had to tell him I don't know and we look up the answer together. If he's like this before he turns 4, how am I going to help him at 12??

Robert is also doing well. He is also becoming more vocal. He will tell you his opinion one way or another, but he is coming up with more and more words to express himself. He loves playing with William and the boys are always inventing games are activities to play together. They mostly play well, but perfect they are not. I think their favorite game is "tag" which mostly involves just running in circles while music plays. Sweet boys.

Hannah had a baby shower at the melting pot on Saturday. I got to have chocolate Fondue with some of the sweetest ladies I know. A HUGE thank you to Arlene for organizing it. Hannah was blessed with gifts, and I was blessed with tons of love and support. Thank you all! Hannah is moving like crazy and pushing so hard, sometimes I think she will come out now. Love this little girl so much already and I cannot wait to meet her in person.

The boys started Swim lessons yesterday. They are doing great. We have it Monday -Thursday this week and next. I can't wait to see how my little fish progress!!!

That's it for now.

June 2, 2015

It's been a crazy week and a half. Francis and I had to make a quick trip to College Station weekend before last and so my mom came and watched the boys Saturday. We got to have lunch with our friends Dave and Tracy, and all in all it was a great day trip! Thanks mom for making it so easy on us!!!

We picked up a nail over that weekend, so Monday (Memorial Day) we had to get a replacement tire on our new Sienna. A bummer, but at least Francis had the day off.  We had a nice lunch out, but as the clouds were looking menacing, we headed home in time to let the dogs in before the deluge happened. By deluge, I mean that it rained all afternoon and into the evening a rain that you could hardly see through. At one point the rain came up over the curb, which is when I got nervous. Something gave way further down the street though, and the water  rushed quickly down the road. We had 5 tornado warnings that afternoon and spent that time glued to the television to see when we needed to take cover. We were supposed to grill out, but seeing as it was pouring outside and kinda flooding, we had to make our fajitas on the flat top. They still tasted delicious, but the house was a little smoke filled by the end. A day to remember.

Tuesday was our Year End Showcase at The Little Gym. Both boys preformed their skills with style and I couldn't have been more proud! Wednesday was a doctor appointment for Hannah. I am measuring right on target and Hannah is doing great. Dr. Thai even let William use the machine to hear Hannah's heartbeat. His little face was lit up so much I'm sure he was glowing. Hannah is getting big. Only 8 weeks to go!

Wednesday my mother-on-law came up to visit us. We had dinner with Francis, and the kids thought it was the best thing ever. Thursday, Frankie's mom, the boys and I went up to the mall (it was raining again), and played on the playground there, had lunch and rode some rides. After nap, the boys played with Nana even more; I'm sure she got her exercise that day!

Friday Frankie's mom, the boys and I headed to San Antonio and spent the afternoon at Sea world. It was fun to see the animals and shows when it wasn't crowded. We had a blast. After dinner, the boys even got to swim in the hotel pool. Francis joined us late that evening as did Francis's father and sister with her family. Saturday we all spent the morning and part of the afternoon at Sea World. We did Aquatica and relaxed until around three another major storm came over. We quickly headed back to the hotel and waited until dinner, We braved the storm and had dinner all together before Francis, the boys and I went home just as the storm passed. What a day!

Church on Sundays is always a blessing. I don't have much else to say in that respect.

Yesterday grocery shopping and house cleaning. Today was our last day of the Season at The Little Gym. I will miss all the people we've gotten to know as we head into the summer. Seems like we will be in with a whole different set of people over the summer so it will be a new adventure.

That's all for now. On to laundry!