Yes I am STILL around and no it is not twins!!

Well we have reached 39.1 weeks of pregnancy and all is going well. Gotta say there is no feeling quite like being this pregnant in 98 degree weather. I have become an indoor girl lately. Other than being rather large and a little moody and impatient, I feel pretty good. I have people asking me every where I go if I am having twins! They must not have read my last post warning against those very comments:) I go back to the doctor tomorrow so we will see if any further progress has been made. For her own safety, I hope she has good news!! I am trying very hard to "be content in any and every situation" but it is difficult to say the least. I CAN'T WAIT TO MEET THIS BABY!!!!! Well that is all for now I will try to keep you posted in the event that something actually happens here.

Still here

Hi all! Not much to report as of now, but I thought it might be nice if I stopped in to say hi! I am 37.5 weeks pregnant, hot, large, and a touch on the crabby side. But there is light in my tunnel. Eventually this little moocher will exit my body and rest in a bed of his own!!
Still no name, but we have narrowed it down to a few and most likely we will wait until we see him to finalize it. I have been busy "nesting" this week, cleaning and organizing all that I can. Although with 3 other boys running around here, I never quite feel like I finish. The boys are enjoying their summer so far. We spent 6 days at my parents camper while Jay was in Mexico. That was lots of fun. My parents bought the boys a bonsai water slide that they keep out there. I attempted to go down this thing, but in my current condition that proved to be a BAD idea!! I couldn't heave my enormous leg over the top of the thing and ended up falling off the back. I was fine, but I am sure I looked ridiculous!!
Well, like Bipin says, now it is like waiting for water to boil. Although I never tell my water, " dang you look big!!" Such comforting words for a woman with highly volatile mood swings!! Being pregnant with your fourth is a lot different then the rest. I don't think I want to see how a fifth would be. I am not 25 anymore, I can't take a nap (but so desperately need one), I can't see my toes, and I would love to complete a sentence without having to stop to pee! Come on baby, today is a good day for a birthday!!!!!!

Maybe Uniqua???

Ok we are down to the final 8 weeks and still without a name for this baby. Once you have had so many of the same sex, you run out of ideas. The kids have been very helpful in this area suggesting names like Uniqua (from backyardigans), Jesus, and Tyler the second. We would be thrilled with some other options. So today I open it up to any ideas you have. In case you are new here, it is a boy. Our only idea was Four Nomore Jeeninga, but I was hoping for something a little less obscure. Suggest away blogger friends!

I'm still here

Hello everyone
I am still here. Just not alot to post lately. Which around here is a good thing. I do have a request though. In May, Jay and I have to got to a dinner where he must wear a coat and tie. Let me tell you, he can't wait!!:) I am in need of a dress I can wear. I will be 32 weeks pregnant and I really don't want to spend the benjamin's on a dress I will never wear again. So if any of you blogging friends out there have had to do this in the past and wouldn't mind lending it out, I would really appreciate it. It will be sort of like a wedding type event, without the wedding part. Let me know. Oh by the way, you should probably be over 5'2" tall at least, seeing as I am 5'10" and modesty is always an issue. Sorry 5 in a row, that leaves you out!! Thank you for considering my request and I look forward to hearing from you.

The case of the missing blankey

My children have all had blankeys. They love their blankeys and they have all had just one that was good enough. We could not substitute a decoy, oh no they knew better. They would not be fooled by that trick. So maintaining a location on the blankey has always been a high priority for me.
About 6 months ago, I sat in my kitchen with a CPS caseworker and watched my adorable 3 year old stand on the picnic table outside of my open kitchen window and sing "I like big butts" while dancing with his blankey. You know, one of those moments of pride!! After my subtle suggestions of a new song, he finally lost interest in his "show" and proceeded to play outside for a little while longer. Flash forward to later on that evening, it is bed time and the blankey is nowhere to be found. I knew that I hadn't left the house since I had last seen blankey, due to the memorable moment that had occurred. So I began to search. We looked all over the house, in every conceivable and inconceivable location. I took a flashlight and searched all over the backyard. I walked the perimeter of our privacy fence to see if it had by chance flown the coup. I even knocked on my neighbors door and asked them to check their yard in case it had gone south for the night. NO BLANKEY!!
I was baffled. After a lot of tears, he finally passed out with out a blankey. I woke up the next morning on a mission to find the missing family member. I even went as far as to offer large sums of money to the one who found the blankey. Meanwhile, my mom had a blanket at her house that he would occasionally use in addition to blankey, so I hightailed it to moms to pick up that one. Begrudgingly he accepted the substitute, but continued to pray for the return of his best friend for weeks. Eventually we resigned. Where ever it was, it would remain. Maybe it ended up in the garbage and we missed it, maybe it fell in the neighbors yard and their dog at it and they were too embarrassed to fess up. So blankey was gone. He slowly adjusted to the new blankey and over time talked less and less about the "other blankey" Life goes on. Tough lesson for a 3 year old, but one of natural consequences since I have always told them not to take them outside.
Today, 6 months later, I look outside where my boys were playing and I hear Sam screaming. He is standing in the yard holding BLANKEY!!!! I stand in awe in the kitchen for a moment. thinking I am seeing a ghost. Sam comes running in the house and sure enough it is the real thing. Of course, I immediately ask, "where the heck did you find that!!???!@!!!" He takes me outside to show me and I can't help but crack up. On the side of our house is our hose reel. It is a plastic thing attached to the house and in the front of it is a small door for holding attachments. There, protected from the elements of a NWI winter, is precious blankey. Looking exactly the same as the day we lost him. Sam is beside himself and I can't believe I never checked there. Actually I didn't even know there was a "there" to check. So mystery solved, blankey in washer, Samuel ecstatic, and mom still scratching her head wondering how in the world that even happened!!!

Thanks, Happy Birthday Tressa, What did you say??

After a difficult week, we are doing well. Thank you so much for your prayers! On Wednesday morning, the caseworker came and picked up Marcus and Brandon. It was, to say the least, a very difficult day. But Gods grace is amazing and his mercies new every morning, so each day has gotten a little bit better. I miss them like crazy, but I cry a little less with each new morning.

On to other news, tomorrow is Tressa's birthday. She is 8 and such a joy to us. She is, by far, the princess of this house ( right beneath me the queen:). We love you so much Tressa!!!

Yesterday we had Tressa's birthday party at Odyssey fun world in Tinley Park. The kids had a blast. Jay and I were exhausted!!! During the party, I was listening to the kids talk. There were 8 total kids there, 4 of which were ours. This is the exchange I heard:
Jacob: Somebody pinch me
Tyler: OK ( here he proceeds to pinch Jacob)
Jacob: OOOWWW Tyler, Metaphorically speaking!!! ( here he rolls his eyes and looks to the other party guests for a laugh)
Now, mind you, they are all under 8, so nobody, but me, laughed! I don't even know where he heard that before. It sounded awfully funny coming out of the mouth of a 7 year old!!!
Well that is all for now. Have a great week and enjoy the beautiful weather!

a change of life

Hello everyone. Today I write with a heavier heart than usual. We found out yesterday that we will be saying goodbye to our foster kids, Marcus and Brandon, on Wednesday of this week. After a year together, they will be moving to their permanent family. I knew this day was approaching for months now, but the reality of it is both exciting and sad. I know the Lord is entirely in control, even where they are going is an example of that. I do know these people and will be able to maintain contact with them to check on the kids. But we cannot see the kids again after Wednesday for a long time. I am so excited that this will be their last move and they are leaving us to be a part of the family God has chosen for them. I can't wait to hear the adoption is final and they can begin to be normal kids again and not "foster" kids anymore!! Saying goodbye is the hardest part, hard for Jay and I and hard for the kids. We would appreciate your prayers as we go through this time of change in our family. Our kids are sad and really don't understand why they are leaving. They have done such a great job of accepting these kids and making them a part of their family. I am proud of the way they have handled sharing their house and parents for the last year. Please pray for Marcus and Brandon that they will soon feel at home in their new family and pray that we can all move on, in confidence, that we have done the will of God this year and it is time to move into that which He has for us next.