36 weeks

So in a nutshell, what's going on in our house is NESTING!  For the most part, we are ready for baby's arrival.  I'm about as organized as I need to be, and things are ready, well, that is, except for our health. 

These past couple weeks, Jason has been plagued with a nasty cough.  Despite my encouragement to see the doctor that first week, (especially after he had a fever one day), he worked long hours and even got into the dunk tank again on a cold night during Homecoming week.  After a second fever a few days later, and what sounded like wheezing, he finally went in & was diagnosed with walking pneumonia.  My weekly doctor visit was normal, other than my coughing, but my doctor put me on the same antibiotics as Jason just to prevent mine from turning to pneumonia as well.

This was all diagnosed last week, and during that time, both AJ & Laney came down with mild head colds and Faith was hit hard with a virus that has her home from school for another day with a fever, a nasty sore throat, headache and even a bit of nausea.  Fearing she caught the strep throat that's going around, we brought her to the doctor as well, but that came out negative, so we're just trying to make her comfortable until it passes.  She's going on day 4 of feeling yucky.

Yesterday, someone asked me when baby is due & I said any time is OK now, but we would prefer to have everyone a bit healthier before bringing a newborn home.  I would also like to kick my cough that keeps me up before I am deprived of sleep even more, otherwise I will be sick even longer! 

But otherwise, we are excitedly awaiting baby's arrival and wondering how things will go with a new little one.  Noah is still not fully accepting of being at school without Mom there, so if we can't get it to work this week, we might end up trying preschool at home.  Not really what I had planned for with a baby, but I also hadn't planned on spending weeks sitting in a preschool classroom so he could adjust the way that Noah adjusts...slowly and on his own time.  I have a last resort of "tricks" up my sleeve, so hopefully we feel a little better to give it a try this week.  I guess if it doesn't work, we will save lots of money on tuition this year and we don't have to worry about getting him to and from school everyday.

"Can't stop the feeling"

Here's a video TCU put together to welcome the students and staff back to school.  

Jason's in a couple of spots.  

Titans!

 The school year officially began for us last week & I am happy to say the kids have adjusted well.  I wasn't worried about them making friends, but after going to the open house at the middle school, I realized how much bigger the school was than what we were all used to.  When searching for AJ's locker, after going up and down 2 sets of stairs, I finally told them, you just go up there & if you find it, let me know and I will come to you.  Let's just say I was in the middle of a contraction & tired of walking during it.

The three older have adjusted to having lockers with combination locks, something I didn't even think of that they've never used before.  AJ's managed to get stuck on day 2 and they had to order him another lock because even the teacher couldn't get it open.  Him and Laney also have a gym locker with a lock, so they have 2 combinations to remember and they haven't mentioned it being a problem...other than locker room lockers smell bad, so they asked for air fresheners, LOL.

Ian and Noah are at the Catholic School and Ian has been much more calm when he is home.  His social cup is now filled when he gets home because he has a class with 5 other boys whom he seems to get along well with and who also have his amount of energy.

Mr. Noah's first day of preschool did not go as well.  Jason dropped all the kids off that morning while I enjoyed a nice cup of coffee in a comfy chair while praying.  "I could get used to this!" I thought.  I slowly moved about our quiet house and planned out my time for grocery shopping before I would pick up Noah just before lunch.  I even called the school for some details, but there was strangely no answer. 

While I was at the store, I left my phone in the car, which turned out to be a mistake.  I returned to my vehicle to discover that the school and Jason had left messages for me to come for Noah...he was not doing well and they had given up trying to settle him down.  (I'm guessing that's why the secretary didn't answer the phone...she had a screaming 4 year-old in her lap.)  Jason had already gone to the rescue & had him at home, so I got there to find a teary-eyed little boy snuggled deep into his Daddy's lap.  I didn't get much else done that day but holding him & assuring him about the next day.

I spent the next 3 mornings camped out in the classroom to gain his trust while he adapted to his new surroundings.  On the 3rd morning, I had to leave for about an hour for an appointment I had scheduled for over a month.  He was screaming when I left and they had to call Daddy again within an hour to come for him when they couldn't settle him down & couldn't reach me. 

So, here I am, week 2, on Wednesday, still sitting through about 4 hours of preschool.  He is doing great, participating, socializing, all the things he should be doing, as long as he can glance over and see me somewhere in the room.  If he doesn't, he gets a look of panic on his face until he sees me.  We have a few things planned to try for tomorrow and Friday to work on getting this 8-1/2 month pregnant mommy out of the classroom so I can: 1) be comfortable, 2) work on getting baby stuff ready & do more unpacking, and 3) get into a morning routine that involves a warm cup of joe and some prayer time, or something like that before I have another little one crying and needing my attention.

On the plus side, it has been fun watching him participate and learning his classmate's names.  And even though I am lacking in my quiet morning prayer time, the short moments I get in prayer, I hear God speak to my heart, "I will ALWAYS be here...he needs you now and so be at peace, because I will be here, ALWAYS."  And that puts a patience in my heart for this little boy, who needs me now, to be by his side when he is afraid and unsure, and to know that it will have to move forward on his time...just as he has done from his very birth.  He is a reminder that I prayed for patience and he gives me opportunities for just that.  So for now, I will enjoy those moments with him, because I know all too well how quickly these years are moving by.

It's done!!

I am super excited to say that our basement finishing is all done!  We have now been in Phase 3 of moving our stuff and downsizing the stuff that doesn't fit or we've realized we can live without.  I'm sure we will continue to unpack some things throughout the rest of the year, as I have started focusing a little more on getting things ready for the baby now that mostly everyone is settled in their spaces.  The decorations might have to wait, but that's not something that's quite uncommon for me when we move.  The reason might be also that I seem to be dealing with pregnancy or a new baby whenever we move.  Here are some pictures of the spaces that we have all grown to love & appreciate in just a few short days.

 

 The living room/office space (we have yet to get the office desk down here, but that is next on my list.)  We are so grateful to Jason's uncle & aunt, Pat & Lori, for generously donating their "old" furniture to us.  The enormous L-couch and entertainment center have been reunited after a time apart.  We acquired the entertainment center a while back, and they just happened to decide to downsize to new furniture and this beautiful couch needed a home & we just happened to be in the right place at the right time.  (I believe we will also be purchasing a trampoline this weekend from them now that their youngest is off to college.)

 

 You can see Noah on the left side crawling out of the storage space under the stairs.  I decided to put the toys in there & the kids claimed the space further back as a play area.  We happened to have leftover carpet from our other house & this one, so we lined the floors with it and let the kids have their "secret hiding space" to play in.  It was nice when it was rainy.  They brought in the kitchen set to put in front of the door, so that's why it looks so small in there.  Otherwise, it's a great space where they have played, colored and imagined up stories and scenarios.

 The bedrooms were a little smaller than our other house, and even though we had bunk beds, the 2 older kids had been used to a full-sized bed & were a little reluctant to go back to a twin, so we looked for "twin over full" lofted beds and we found these.  They have steps to the top bunk & dresser drawers on each side, which is really nice since the boys' room is not really big enough for a separate dresser.  The closets are bigger though, so that helps also with clothes storage.  (As you can see, I didn't care to have their beds made before I took the pictures...at least their rooms are kept clean...at least for now!)

 

 The girls' room is a little bigger & they have room for a small desk, which I am in the process of painting.

 We are so excited to have another bathroom!  The kids love having their "own" shower.

We are so humbled and grateful to God for all that we have & how things have worked out in our new home.  We definitely see His hand in everything and although everything was not always easy, it has definitely been worth the wait.  Finding the blessings in each step of moving, from the past year up until now, has put my heart and soul in a state of peace.  Trusting in God's will is a big step, especially for someone like me who tends to like to control and know what's always going on, but the inner peace and joy that has come from it is amazing!  I admit that most days my inner emotions get the best of me, but when I seek the quiet and solace of God's loving embrace, I find Him nudging my heart to love better because I feel Him loving me, even in my weaknesses and inequities.

We have found His calling to us here and know that by following His voice to our new home that He will continue to do things in our lives and in those around us.

Toot your horn

Laney hates it when I call her clarinet a "horn", but for me, if you blow air into it and it makes a noise, calling it a horn works for me.  Yesterday, we found a saxophone for Faith to start band with this year.  Too excited to wait for lessons on Monday, we had to get it out and see how it sounded.  She actually does really well at it & not to feel left out, Laney decided to get her clarinet out (for the first time this summer!) and play along as well.  It's so fun to see them excited about instruments, but I'm also glad that the basement is nearly done and they can play downstairs in their rooms where the walls and ceiling are soundproofed!  A great investment indeed!

What does one do...?

What does one do in a space when new carpet is installed 

and no furniture is around?

Noah looked at the fresh vacuum marks and said, 

"Look Mom!  Shark teeth!"

It's not all work, no play!

After all the work this week, we were able to treat the kids with a trip to a Twins game.  We actually had it planned a while ago, when the Minneota KC's sponsored a trip for the Mass servers.  We knew we were going to be in our new place when they went, but also knew that the trip would be much easier for us now that we are only an hour from the Twin Cities.  AJ & Laney's tickets were covered and so we decided to bring the whole family & also met up with Jason's brother, John, at the game.  It was set to be a hot and humid day, but we were happy that our seats were in the shade & close to the top so we could feel the breeze.  I didn't get a picture of AJ, because he was sitting further down with his friends, but I did get a good one of Fr. Craig & the giant hot dog he got.  Noah was amazed...he loves hot dogs and had never seen a footlong hot dog before & thought it was neat that Father "found" a hot dog that big.

Jason was also in his first local parade for Lonsdale's Community Days.  He got to ride in the back of the truck with the also-new Assistant Principal.  They didn't have their "royalty waves" down, but they were both at least facing the right direction when I wanted to take a picture.

Just when I think I won't get any new opportunities to catch Noah sleeping in strange places or positions, he goes and surprises me.  Faith actually tucked him into this little spot after she wore him out playing together.