10 Years!

My hubby and I celebrated 10 years of marriage this past week. Andy was able to have this week off and so we enjoyed time as a family as well as just the 2 of us. We had an enjoyable time getting projects done, enjoying time as a family at home and as we cared for Andy's dad, playing games, and watching movies, and then a trip away to Bristol, Indiana for a night away at a Bed and Breakfast. We enjoyed time visiting Amish stores and the sites in that area. We even visited a working mill which was very interesting and we are planning on bringing our kids back!
I am so very grateful for the husband the Lord has given me. Our past 10 years have not been easy. We have had our moments of difficulty and growing periods. We have had 10 pregnancies, 5 beautiful children (2 born early), 4 babies awaiting us in heaven, and our latest blessing due around Christmas. We have lived in 5 different homes in 2 different states. We have enjoyed a few trips alone and quite a few family vacations. Yet, through it all, I cannot imagine being with anyone else to walk this earthly journey. He is my biggest encourager, my greatest challenger, and I am so grateful for God's blessing me with my Andy.

20 Weeks

We have hit the half way mark with our precious baby. I can hardly believe that we only have 18ish weeks left until we meet our precious little one. I had an appointment yesterday and all seemed good. I need to take extra care of my leg as it is definitely having issues! That's okay though, I suppose I could use the extra rest!
This week I had an appointment with the Midwife (I go to a practice where I have seen 2 of the OB's since I was pregnant with Lillian. They now have a midwife and another OB, and I am not too thrilled to be shuffled around so much!) Anyway, there was some confusion regarding my due date. I always assumed it was around the 4th-7th of January, but they have officially moved it to the 28th of December. Baby has always measured more like January, but they don't even think I will make it to Christmas anyway. I had my ultrasound on the 4th, and while the tech thought it looked girl, she couldn't say with certainty because our baby was so uncooperative. She said I will be back for another ultrasound and they could check again at that time. When I went this week, it was determined that I will have the rest of the anatomy checked in the office at my next appointment and that we could get a gender peek then! That appointment is scheduled for September 8th...so in 4 weeks, we will get another peek! This will be my longest interval between appointments...a nice break for sure!!!!
I have really been struggling with the fact that there is so much I want to do around our home to get ready for December and feeling the "crunch" (I know! Crazy!)to get so much done. I am really trying to prioritize and divvy out all that needs to be accomplished over the next 3 and a half months. Knowing there is a good chance this baby is a girl (and I don't do well with girls) and knowing this baby could arrive as early as the beginning of December has me really wanting to get alot done. Currently, my plan is the following:
August ~ finish painting rooms and organizing the house
September ~ switch clothes in all the kids drawers and make list of what is needed for the winter
October ~ make sure all baby items are ready and accounted for and make list of any items still needed
November ~prepare for Christmas (Advent items, gifts, decorating) and make sure suitcases are packed for kids, and mom for hospital.
December ~ enjoy the holiday as long as we are able to!!!!

I feel like if I have a plan, something will get accomplished even if it's not done quite when I want it to be. I want to not be stressed when we get closer to the baby because I know that the less stressed I am and the less I have on my plate the better things tend to go. When I add schooling,
Dr. appointments, and just plain old general life to my lists, I know we will never be bored!!!!
So, I am looking forward to how everything is going to continue to go!

So excited!

I am a big fan of the resources at Doorposts and was very excited to see that they were promoting the book Loving the Little Years at their blog as well as having a give away for the book. I was even more excited to find out that I was the winner chosen!!! I have been eying that book for some time since my dear sister in law first sent me an article from the Desising God blog. There are so many times that it is easy to be discouraged in mothering when you have so many little ones. And yet, as a mother, serving and loving your children is one of the most important ministries we've been given by God. I am looking forward to the encouragement reading this book will give me especially as I seek to serve God by ministering to those closest to me- by husband and my children. I also want to share with you the article that first sparked my interest in this book...enjoy!
Motherhood as a mission field by Rachel Jankovic