Counting Down the Days

At my appointment on Monday, my doctor scheduled me with the hospital for my induction.

I need to be at the hospital next Thursday night at 8:00 pm. I will be monitored all night long due to me not being able to take my blood thinners that night to reduce the risk of hemorrhage. No blood thinners means an increased risk for baby so I will be monitored during the night and the induction will begin Friday morning.

It is here! This experience seems a long time in coming.

She is a blessing and I am so excited to meet her! (I am also intensely curious to see how big she is and what color hair she will have- red, brown or something new?)

The kids are doubly excited because Grandma and Grandpa are coming and the baby is finally almost here.

Peter is just amazing- he has completed the to do list and is now working on a few other things that I wanted to get done before October when we have more family coming for Joey's Baptism and Lily's blessing. I am such a lucky woman!

One week- hurray!

Baby To Do List

So I have 17 days until I deliver this baby but who is counting!

As with any other pregnant woman in the world, I am nesting. I have done my usual cleaning of things but a little more extensively and I find myself wanting to do some odd things. For example, the other day while in the shower I came awfully close to deciding that was the day to replace the caulk around the shower. I did not do it because it is better to have Peter do it, I may have done something wrong and he would end up doing it again anyways.

Anyhow I am sharing a few of the things on my to do list with you:

1. Stay cool by eating lots of popsicles and shaved ice!

2. Keep the kids happy and cool by playing with the hose in the yard and swimming at friend's pools regularly.

3. Play at the zoo or museum or Bass Pro Shop to see the fish for something different to do when it is 102 or higher outside.

4. Lose a tooth- well that was on Jon's to do list. For me, I needed to get him to the dentist to get a chipped tooth fixed. Peter ended up being the lucky one to take him and the other two kids while I was at 2 doctor appointments of my own.

5. More staying cool when it is too hot!

6. Eat ice cream when it is hot and share with Sasha if you are Arabella.

7. Get Arabella a big girl bed. She loves it and has done really well going to bed in it. She has not taken a nap since we got it but oh well.

8. Paint the boys room. This was a project that took a week but we are all happy with how it turned out.

9. Have a baby shower. We had a duo shower for me and my 1st counselor who is delivering a boy 3 days before me. So much Fun!

10. Fulfill traditions. We have eaten at a new restaurant just before the births of each of our kids. This time we ate at Hard Eight a delicious BBQ place by Peter's office. Yummy!

11. Wash baby clothes.

12. Pack diaper bag and my bag (this is not completed yet). I am taking both outfits to the hospital because I can not decide which to bring her home in.

13. Organize Arabella's closet- including sorting several bins of clothes .

14. Peter built and installed the shelves on the left in the girls' closet. They will be so handy!

15. I still need to finish organizing this room - although since taking this picture it has already had some work done. I still have 2 bins of boy clothes to sort and food storage to put away that I bought today.

16. We will be cleaning carpets this afternoon and evening.

17. I will be making freezer meals this week.

18. Peter and I will be going on a date Friday night to see Harry Potter.

19. Get out the car seat, swing, and bouncer and wash them (this is one that Peter has reminded me he could take care of if the baby did come earlier than already planned-he is the BEST!).

20. Continue to enjoy being pregnant, in case this is our last. I am trying to love my swollen feet. I do love feeling her kick and move- that is a great feeling.

Well, there you have it and I am glad that so much of it is done.

4th of July

What is sad is that I do not have any pictures from the actual 4th of July.

What is not sad is that we had a great extended weekend of fun!

Saturday our ward had a pancake breakfast with bike parade. The pancakes were plentiful and yummy with all sorts of baked in treats including: gummy bears, chocolate chips and various fruits. Decorating bikes was a great deal of fun, so was riding them. Jon only wanted his decorated- he did not want to ride. Peter had pulled Arabella in the trailer and the boys rode their bikes to the church. It was a true test for Jon and Peter. They made it though!

After the kids rode around there was shaved ice. We have tried to find block ice here and have been unsuccessful so we bought some molds and have made our own. We stockpiled and shared in the shaved ice goodness with the ward. Of course, everyone loved it!

Does she look good or what!

Peter the master of ice mutilation. Although, the kids and several members of the ward were impressed to see that I could make a decent shaved ice.

Joey decorated all by himself and is a great rider. He rides his bike almost every morning when Peter takes Sasha for a run.

Arabella's favorite part was having little girls to play with!

We simply enjoyed the rest of Saturday and Sunday.

Monday, we had Peter's sourdough pancakes with Magelby's syrup for breakfast- Jon says they are dad's super special secret recipe pancakes. Then we went to a friend's house to swim and grill and yes we took the shaved ice machine. We swam for almost 4 hours. It was wonderful! The kids had a great time and Jon did some superb swimming. We through some ice blocks in the pool and timed them to see how fast they melted. It took about 6 minutes. Thank you Ostermillers for the funnest day. Finally we stuck with the tradition of the past few years and went to see a movie. When you live in places where it is blistering hot it is nice to do something cool and air conditioned. We saw Cars 2 and it was enjoyed by all. As we left the theater, the fireworks in various cities were going off and we watched them over the trees as we drove home. All in all it was a great day! This is a great country and I am so grateful I live here.

Rangers Game and a Storm

On June 20, we were lucky enough to go to a Rangers game. It was really fun and they won!

Peter's boss gave us 4 tickets. We took the boys and left Arabella home with a babysitter, which at first Jon thought sounded like more fun- he changed his mind after we got there.

Joey eating his frozen lemonade- he loves them!

Happy to be out to a game!

This is the treat that Jon chose and made him very happy. Yes, that pretzel is bigger than Peter's hand. We all enjoyed it and it was a mere $12.50.

A bit of a funky angle but we were having fun!

Our tickets were on row 20, third baseline- GREAT seats!

We only stayed until the bottom of the 7th and then it was late enough so we headed home.

On the way home, we noticed a great deal of lightning over the Lewisville area.

About 2:30 in the morning, that lightning turned into a full on storm.

The rain was pounding so hard that it woke both Peter and I up. The kids slept through it due to the direction the rain was hitting the house- their windows were not getting pounded like ours.

We headed downstairs to check out what was happening- that is hail and Sasha's bowl that had been empty was full and overflowing with rain and hail.

Peter showing the size of the hail. It rained so hard, so fast that it flooded into our garage and the road in front of our house was a river.

Our garden took a beating. It was looking so nice and then it looked as though it was destroyed.

Those were cantaloupe and watermelon plants. You will be relieved to know that much of the garden is making a come back. We lost a cucumber plant.

Joey really wanted to help clean up. He swept our neighbors driveway. I also took this to document the squash plants that had grown up and over and down the fence, in case they did not survive. These plants are still alive and the vines that are on the ground have started to take root- crazy!

I posted a picture of my lilies a few weeks ago. They looked so sad and still do not look so great. Almost every leaf was broken or torn. They survived a freeze this last winter so I have not given up all hope.

I feel this need to get caught up on my blogging- it could not possible have anything to do with a baby coming very soon (4 1/2 weeks)!

Child Champion vs.Critic

I have a friend that has told me that all parents will have that child that will test them to the max. If you tell them not to pierce or tattoo themselves when they are teenagers they will end up with a tattoo or piercings. This is not news to me. I can think of many families where that child is visible to anyone that knows the family. I believe that even in those families that don't have an obvious "difficult child" there is one. They question their parents a little more and push the boundaries as far and as often as they can. Parents don't love these children any less in fact the love for these children is hard earned and deep rooted due to many experiences.

Right now we have 3 children and each of them has a distinct and wonderful personality. I am grateful for each one of them. Each child's way of viewing life and living it is teaching me something new as a parent. I have a child that will listen to the rule and then test me to make sure I really meant that this was a rule and that indeed their will be a consequence that is enforced. It makes me think more about exactly what rules matter and what threats, I mean consequences I am willing to carry out. I have also found that consequences differ with each child for the same rule because what matters to each is different.

Today we had a trying experience with one of my children and Peter. Peter was the one to endure the challenge longer than me. I reminded Peter to be patient and use positive encouragement because this child, though regularly trying, responds best to the positive. So, as I was leaving the situation I thought about what we are and will face with this child and had the thought that there will be plenty of people in this world quick to criticize my child. I also realized that I will at times be my child's critic and hopeful the best critic. Children will need correction and direction in their lives and that is best given with love. So, who better to give it then their parents who love them more than anyone else. I will also find myself being my child's champion. I need to defend, uplift, encourage, praise and patiently guide my children through their lives. Parenting is not for the weak of heart. I also am not foolish enough to believe that I will be a perfect parent or always know the answers. I am beyond grateful that my parents are still alive for me to turn to if I have questions. But I am even more grateful that I know I can turn to my Heavenly Father who is the perfect parent and ask for guidance and direction anytime. He loves each one of us for our individual needs, desires, challenges, obedience and even our disobedience. He loved us enough to give up His only Son to given us every chance to become all that He knows that we can become.

I love my children and what they are teaching me. I look forward to the arrival of another sweet baby, knowing that she too will come with her ups and downs. I also that I can use her arrival and the changes it will bring to our family to help me become a better mother to my other 3. I am also very grateful to have Peter by my side. We help each other remember what really matters and support each other in the discipline of our children.

So tomorrow morning when I face a new day filled with endless possibilities, I pray that I may look for the opportunities to be my child's champion and critic if needed. Above all I hope I can do it with love and patience in my heart and mouth.