So much happens in a month!

I just realized it has been almost a month since I blogged. Wow. Time has gone by so incredibly fast!

Since there's way too much to update on, I have posted a few pictures of what we have been doing the past month.

We got to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary last weekend by staying at the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Dallas and going to see "Chorus Line" at Fair Park. Amazing performance!! We also saw "Wizard of Oz" last month, but the true celebration of our anniversary was last weekend. This has been the best 8 years of my life, and I cannot wait to grow old with this man. He is the love of my life!

We got a double suite - huge room! And the bed was absolutely divine!

We celebrated Derek's birthday (which is July 3rd) with some neighbors/good friends post-birthday. We grilled out and just had a great time. I am so blessed with my incredible husband. God truly knew what He was doing when He placed Derek in my life. He completely balances me out and is by far the better half. I love him so much and am so blessed by him on a daily basis. I could go on and on about how much he does, but I might bore you!

Jacob loving the fireworks finale!! Priceless expression!

We celebrated 4th of July at Kaboom Town in Addison with some wonderful friends. Jacob absolutely loved the fireworks and thought it was really cool to stay up until 11:00!

It's a Boy!

Most of you know already, but we found out on Friday that Jacob is going to have a little brother! My mother's instinct was way off on this one - seems like the daddy's instinct had it right. Derek's been saying all along that we were having another boy - he was right!

We are so excited about this news. I can't WAIT to see Jacob play with his little brother, and a bonus is that they are going to be 25 months apart so most likely this new boy will be able to wear Jacob's clothes (hopefully)!

I've always wanted 3 boys and 1 girl, so we seem to be right on track so far. I can't wait to meet him! Now, we just have to decide on his name.

More good news is that I am officially out of the woods. Yay! My blood clot is totally gone and she has lifted all restrictions. Back to normalcy! Praise God!

Here's our little one staring at the camera - completely anti-camera shy (like his brother)!

Here's a precious profile picture.

It's a boy!

A Child After My Own Heart!

Last night Derek and I witnessed the cutest thing I think I've seen in a long time.

We put Jacob to bed at his usual time, somewhere around 8:15. He went straight to bed, or so we thought, because we didn't hear any noise or playing on the monitor.

Well around 10:45 before we were going to bed, we went to his room to check on him like we usually do every night. When we went over to his bed we looked down and he had one of his books lying next to him. I looked over to his wooden chest where we had put the books we read right before bed, and I noticed it was completely empty. I knew there had to be another book in his bed!

After searching around his bed as quietly as possible with the flashlight, Derek pointed to a spot right underneath Jacob....he was laying on top of his "Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?" book. He was laying completely on top of his book!

Sigh.

These are the moments that make Mommies most proud. My son shares a love for the same thing as me. =)

Weekend Updates

A full night's rest for ALL of us - finally!

Last Wednesday, Jacob came down with a fever of around 102.6. He kept saying his mouth hurt and he was crying all day long. Then he didn't sleep that night. So on Thursday morning when he was still weepy and saying how his mouth hurt and wouldn't eat or drink anything, I took him to the doctor.

The doctor informed me he had caught Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease and she said he got infected pretty bad. This sounds worse than it actually is. We hear the word "disease" and we freak out - it's really just a viral cold that causes blisters on the hands, feet, and bottom, and ulcers in the mouth. Poor little man's entire mouth was covered with these horrible things so he wouldn't eat anything, literally, until Friday night. We got him to eat jarred baby food. He wouldn't even eat Popsicles.

So he didn't sleep again on Thursday night, and by this time I was exhausted. I worked approximately 30 hours last week making baskets and doing the deliveries, taking care of our sick boy, and then not getting any sleep over Wednesday and Thursday nights. I was in a very bad place! My sweet, sweet husband told me on both Friday and Saturday night to go sleep in our bed and he would sleep on the couch with the monitor. I slept wonderfully BOTH nights, but unfortunately Derek did not because Jacob didn't. His mouth still hurt him so bad.

However, by yesterday morning, everything seemed to be much better. He was eating all day long and drinking again, and he didn't wake up ONCE last night. All 3 of us slept great - in fact the little guy is still sleeping! Thank you, Lord!

On another note, though, I have been so overcome with fear this weekend. Because of the exhaustion, I have been so worried about this new baby that is growing inside me. I am supposed to be resting, not having a raised heartbeat, drinking tons of water, not lifting anything heavier than a gallon of milk, and so on. I have not listened to ANY of these instructions lately, and I have felt so worried. On Saturday I kept feeling like I was having Braxton-Hicks contractions. I don't think this is possible at 12-1/2 weeks, but from around 4:00 until 11:30 my abdomen kept tightening up every 2 minutes or so - you could literally see this happening. I called the emergency line for my doctor, but she told me it was probably just a bodily reaction from me being nauseaus and throwing up every day. She wasn't worried about it because I wasn't bleeding. This didn't do much to relieve my anxiety and fear, though.

I haven't had any issues since Saturday night, but I still just pray, pray, pray that everything is okay with this little one.

11-1/2 weeks!

We are almost through the 1st Trimester, and I am so excited to get over this hill!

My belly is definitely expanding MUCH faster than it did in my first pregnancy, and I look like I'm more so 18 weeks instead of 11! Yup, I've had to start pulling out the maternity clothes already.

I had a sonogram and check-up on Friday and everything went well for the most part. There's good and bad news. Let's start with the good news:

GREAT news is that the baby is measuring completely normal at this stage and is looking healthy so far. Very strong heartbeat at 170 (!) and we even got to see 5 little fingers attached to each hand. It was so great. My mom went with me and we were trying to show Jacob the baby on the screen, and he scrunched his little face up and looked so confused! It was precious.

Also, the sonographer thinks we're having another boy. She said it's still a little too early to tell, but she thinks it's a boy. However, the doc thinks it's a girl. It's anybody's guess. We'd be happy with either one!

Okay, now for the not-so-good news. According to the sonogram there is still a blood clot or something in there. It has been there since the beginning of the pregnancy, and I have had to go for check-ups every 2 weeks because of this. The doctor said she's a little concerned that it's not going away, but she will give me 4 weeks to come back to see if it goes away. If it hasn't gone away by then, I have to go to a high-risk doctor to make sure it's not a piece of placenta that has become detached. She told me not to worry about it, but she gave me full permission to be very lazy over the next 4 weeks. She wants me to rest as much as possible and not to exercise or even go walking.

So it's not terrible news. After all, I got permission to be lazy! On a more serious note, though, I really feel like the Lord is exercising my faith and trust in Him. I know He will take care of this little one and He is knitting him or her together in my womb, fearfully and wonderfully made!

Mother's Day!

This Mother's Day Derek really outdid himself. I thought he did a wonderful job last year, but he did absolutely terrific this year!

He took our little son to take pictures of him at a beautiful park in Frisco. For those of you who don't know, Derek has been getting extremely good at his hobby. He's always loved taking pictures, but he is really perfecting this hobby lately and all I can say is these pictures are breathtaking.

Anyways, he went and bought Jacob an outfit at Baby Gap. Yes, my husband, who does not like to buy Jacob new clothes, much less from the Gap, bought him an entire outfit including the most adorable hat. Then he bought some sunflowers and enlisted the help from my in-laws to go to the park with him to help pose Jacob while he was shooting photos.

Then, he took 5 of his favorite shots and had them printed in black and white and framed them. Jacob brought the finished product to me with a big ol' smile on his face. It was precious!

It was a very memorable Mother's Day. I love this man God has blessed me with. I could never have asked for a better husband or father to our children. I love you, hunny!

Learning to Swim AND Potty Train!

Well....we still have a lot of work to do on potty training! Jacob has gone in the potty several times now (I think 6 times now!), but no bowel movement yet. We've also had a couple of accidents on the bathroom floor. He doesn't really understand that he's going, but he sure loves the praise we give him and the stickers he gets afterwards, and the little horn that goes off from his construction truck potty chair!

As for swimming, he just finished up his 3rd week of swimming lessons. He is doing swimming lessons through Infant Aquatics (similar to ISR). The lessons are survival-based, and he is learning to swim-float-swim.

He did so well the first 2 weeks, but this past week we had sort of a setback. He just got so fearful all of a sudden and his fear was hindering his learning. It was starting to affect what he's learned so far, so his teacher and I decided it might be best for me to get back in the water with him so he can rest his anxieties.

Sure enough, when I got back in the water with him yesterday he was swimming like a superstar! It's incredible to watch! His little feet are kicking up behind him as he swims underwater. He's also able to turn himself over onto his back and then again back to his belly, but we're trying to get him to float longer on his back. So far he's not really loving the floating on the back thing too much. He gets so nervous and starts crying and ends up swallowing tons of water.

Here are some pictures of him and his buddy, Malakai, who is also taking lessons at the same place as Jacob. Their lessons are one-on-one, but Malakai goes right before Jacob. They are loving their suckers they got as a reward for swimming so good!

Blessings, Blessings!

As many of you already know, Derek and I found out recently that we are going to be having another baby! I had my first sonogram a week ago from today, and the doctor confirmed baby's heartbeat and said everything looks great. My due date is December 12th, so Jacob and his little sibling will be just over 2 years apart!

This came as quite a surprise to us. We were talking about holding off on trying for a baby for when Jacob turned 2. We really weren't expecting this to happen so soon, but we are very happy.

To be completely honest, though, I feel very convicted of my response to this pregnancy. Let me explain. With Jacob, we had tried for 2 grueling years to have a baby, we had 2 miscarriages during the process, tried fertility meds, and looked strongly into adoption (to the point of getting ready to mail off the application when we found out we were pregnant). So when we did finally get pregnant with Jacob, I was absolutely elated! I loved every minute of the pregnancy. I welcomed the morning sickness and every twinge and discomfort. I was so happy to experience it and I knew that God had answered our prayers.

With this pregnancy, however, I feel like I have shown no joy over it. I feel so sick all the time, and let me tell you I am not overjoyed about it! I think about the baby and pray for him or her daily, but I feel like I don't spend even half the time thinking about it like I did with Jacob. Instead I grumble and complain about not feeling well and being so tired all the time.

I guess what has convicted me is this:

Do we only truly show gratitude to God for the prayers He answers? To the gifts He blesses us with that have been prayed for day after day, hour after hour?

Should we not be equally as thankful for the gifts He chooses to bless us with, even if we haven't put in the long hours of prayer for that specific thing?

I don't want to mislead anybody. I am overjoyed about this baby. The Lord knows I want a whole house full of children (well, not exactly. Maybe just 4)! But I do want to appreciate every single aspect of this pregnancy like I did with Jacob. I need to see it how James says it in James 1:2 - "Count it all joy when you face trials of many kinds". This isn't really a trial so to speak, but it is a trial to put on a smile when I'm not feeling well. And I need to see this as what it truly is - a blessing beyond more than we could have ever asked or imagined.

I am so thankful that we didn't have to go through the heartache of conceiving that we did before. Our Lord is so faithful, and I will make every effort to praise Him even when I'm puking! I can't wait to meet this little one.

Happy Easter!

I know this is a little late, but I couldn't not post something about Easter last weekend.

Easter is my most favorite holiday. Yes, I absolutely love Christmas, but Easter is so special because that is the day we rejoice in the death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour!

Each night we read Jacob a Bible story out of his Children's illustrated Bible. The week leading up to Easter, we read each story that lead up to Christ's actual death and resurrection. Well, when we got to the story about His death (which wasn't graphic - only showed the bottom of the cross with Jesus' feet), Jacob got so upset. He saw the people at the bottom of the cross that were crying, and his little eyebrows got so crinkled up and he started pouting. Derek and I told him that there was good news, though, and then we read him the story where Jesus was alive. He seemed to relax after seeing all the people were happy again, but it will take some time before he can actually grasp the meaning of this.

I pray that our son will fully grasp this awesome news one day. I pray that he will see how much God loves him and that He died for him, and I pray that he will dedicate his life so early to the Lord. I pray that he will follow Him and love Him with every ounce of his little body, and I pray that he does mighty things for God's kingdom.

Here are some pictures from last weekend. On Saturday, we went and played in a field of bluebonnets. Then on Sunday we had family time with both sets of families. It was a wonderful weekend!

Dinner at Our House

So, last night I made King Ranch Casserole for dinner along with a cornbread casserole. It took me about an hour to prepare the whole thing, and then both dishes baked in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour.

For those of you don't know what King Ranch Casserole is, it is a chicken casserole with red and green bell peppers, chopped onions, crushed tortilla chips, diced tomatoes w/ green chiles, cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup, and obviously, diced cooked chicken. It is absolutely divine! So very tasty with just the right amount of flavors mixed together. And with the cornbread casserole as a sidekick, it is taste bud heaven!

Or so I thought.

Jacob absolutely hated it! He kept saying "No!" when we tried to get him to eat. We kept trying to persuade our little man that if he tasted it he would like it (as if you can reason with a 17-month old).

We finally got him to taste a few bites, but kept trying to get him to have more. He finally took his last bite and then he started gagging.

And then he gagged some more.

And then some more, and before we knew it he was puking up his whole dinner! So gross.

I guess he really didn't like that dinner. = ) Derek and I enjoyed our's, though, so I plan on making it again. We'll just make some chicken nuggets I guess for Jacob next time.

There is a positive note to this story. We happened to put his large bib on him before dinner that has the pouch at the bottom of it. Well, when he disposed of his dinner, the bib came in very handy - if you know where I'm getting at!

Do you have any similar stories that your kids (or you) have done?

Roof Dog Trip 2009

As many of you know, I had the opportunity to travel to Arequipa, Peru with my mother-in-law and a group from her church. We traveled from February 14th-22nd, and it was an absolutely amazing experience.

I went on my first mission trip when I graduated High School and ever since then I have had such a "tugging" to go back on more mission trips. I never really had the super strong urge until recently and I found out from Toni that I was able to go with her church. After much prayer, I decided to go.

For the week while we were there, we just spent that time loving on these beautiful kids. There are a total of 28 orphans split into two orphanages. The "casa" for the older kids (13 and older) is called Sagrada Familia, and the younger "casa" is San Jose. Both of these orphanages are overseen from an amazing couple from Christ Church Plano who moved down there to be closer to the work. CCP has built the orphanage for the kids and are actually in the process of looking to build another, sturdier, orphanage. They also run fundraisers and drives to raise money for the kids.

Many of the precious children came from horrible backgrounds, but I believe the Lord is taking these terrible pasts and transforming them in to beautiful stories. When we were down there it was so awesome to hear the dreams and goals these kids have. Many of them wouldn't open up or trust anybody in past years, but this year they seemed to be more trusting of the Roof Dogs.

I guess I owe you an explanation of where the Roof Dog name came from. In that part of Peru, the dogs sleep on the roofs in order to protect the home. Their sole purpose is to watch over their house and family and protect them fiercely. Well, on the very first Roof Dog trip 5 years ago, a few of the people in the group climbed up to the roof of the hotel we stay at every year. When they were up there, they had the revelaton that they were Roof Dogs in a way, sent there to protect the kids of the Casas Hogares and show them Christ's love.

Anyways, it was such a great week. To make this post a little less long, I will just give a brief synopsis of what we did. We reiterated over and over how much God loves them and treasures them. We did a ton of crafts, making picture frames, beaded necklaces, shields, etc. One "Roof Dog" is a hair stylist, and she used her gifts to cut every single one of the children's hair while we were there. What a blessing! The kids loved it! We also took them horse back riding, took them to the park, and even got to take them to see a movie! (Never thought we'd get the chance to do that!)

We also brought clothes, shoes, and backpacks for the kids. That was a lot of fun. It was awesome because we had to guess on the sizes. We were off only on 1 kiddo - all the others fit great! How's that for a God-thing?

Last but not least, another Roof Dog and I had the privilege to share our testimonies with the older kids. I really felt I needed to share mine, but at the same time it felt so insignificant to her's. It's awesome how God works, though, doesn't it? I know that He used both of our words to connect to the kids, on different levels, but on very crucial areas.

I can't wait to go back next year, God willing! Daniella and me - she captured my heart right from the start!

Julio Cesar with the new shoes he picked out.

Me and the Roof Dogs teaching the kids "Pharaoh, Pharaoh" - this was part of the VBS we did.

Daniel, Angela, and Areleis - beautiful, beautiful girls

Oh my goodness, sweet Juan Diego! Love him so much!

I know, I know. It's been over 4 months since I last wrote on our blog. What can I say other than I have been swept away in a whirlwind of activity since Jacob turned 1! The last time I blogged, I showed pictures from his first birthday. Now he is a full-of-energy, steals-my-heart, goofball of a 16-month old! I am incredibly in love with our little son. He makes his daddy and I laugh so hard at times.

His latest kick now is shouting out "COW" as soon as we get on 380 in eager anticipation of seeing cows on the sides of the road. I'm sure if he wasn't bucked in to his carseat his face would probably be plastered up against the window looking for those huge black and/or white animals he loves so dearly.

On another note, I have a confession. Some of you know I took child development classes in college and I swore up and down that I would not let my child watch TV until he was 3. Well.......first it started with only 15 minutes of Sesame Street here and there. Now, I definitely let him watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I can't help myself. It keeps him distracted so I can prepare dinner or clean the dishes. I now say fervently I will never judge another mom ever again. It's funny how our pre-conceived notions before children turn out after we do have children. I don't think it makes any of us "bad" parents - we just learn through experience what works and what doesn't. And getting to see the look of glee on Jacob's face as he's doing the "Hot Dog Dance" is worth more than words can say! He bops his little heiny up and down and says "hot-da" "hot-da" over and over and over again - it is the cutest thing I've ever seen!

Okay, I have to run to wake him up now. I will post more later - there's tons to catch you up on!!