Bridal Shower Weekend

A few weekends ago I got the chance to spend time with my future sis-in-law Megan and her mom Kristie. Her bridal shower was on Saturday but we decided to start the festivities on Friday.

We headed up to Shipshewana for the day and bummed around looking through the shops and hoping to catch a few picturesque moments. Since they are from Virginia I thought they would enjoy a taste of Amish country.

Since the Amish do not approve of photographs this was my attempt at capturing an artistic touch of their beautiful way of life while still being respectful. Kind of cool, Huh!?!?

Friday night we had dinner at Etta and Mose Miller's house with a bunch of family and friends. They are an Amish couple that will cook dinners for groups of people at their home. It was so much fun! We LOVE their cooking!

Saturday morning was the shower. We had a really nice time. Here are a few pictures from the party.

Kathy is that a mimosa in your hand???? :)

I will leave you with this tasty little treat! Yum!

1997 or 2009?

So I think it is pretty safe to say that I went a little overboard last weekend at Luke's 3rd Birthday party. He had a "Basketball" themed party. It was a blast! We were supposed to come in basketball attire. So instead of just taking the easy route and wearing Fairfield jerseys I had fun digging through our basement and bringing out item after item from 1997. Ben actually called Jessica to warn her that I was "out of control!" I think he was pretty embarassed but he played along to make me happy.

In the end Ben ended up sporting his Slicer Warm up shirt, Old Jordan shoes, Final Four Hat and his State Medal. He also had on his Grace College Jacket.
I didn't want to scar anyone at the party with an old cheerleading uniform so I just opted for the warm-up suit and my letter jacket. I completed my ensemble (I feel like I am in "Fashion Review" all over again.) with very large curls and an even larger white bow on the top of my head. I also couldn't pass up the opportunity to wear a silver star sticker by my eye and Cheerleading medal.
The boys looked adorable in their new baller outfits and sweatbands. They also carried in signs that were for Luke.

Here are Jess and I in our get-ups.

Doesn't Sawyer look like a crazy NBA player? :)

For dinner we had all concession stand food like hotdogs, popcorn, soft pretzels, cotton candy, etc... They also had the music from "Hoosiers" playing while the all the little boys were announced for the Starting Line up.

We surprised Luke with some wild and crazy fans. As the boys were introduced we painted their chests to spell "Luke #24" So cute!!!
Happy 3rd Birthday Luke! We love you!

God Gave Us Heaven

When Ben's Grandma Anne passed away a few months ago our good friends Kim, Rebecca and Dakota gave the boys a gift card to go pick out a book or two from Barnes and Nobles in memory of their Great Grandma. Many of the books in our library are from "Granma Anne". (This is how she always signed the books for the boys.) I thought this was such a wonderful idea so that they would have another memento of their Great Grandma. Ben and I picked these two books out for them. I would love to say it was fun to read these to the boys and it was a little bit but I also cried in the store just trying to pick them each a book that would explain where Grandma is now.

Charlie still talks about her from time to time and Sawyer points to her picture a lot. A few days before we went shopping Charlie started asking me a series of questions about Grandma. They caught me off guard a bit and I wanted to laugh and cry all at the same time. He said, "How did Grandma get to Heaven?" and "How does she not fall out?" :) Those are tough questions that don't have really easy answers. I tried my best to keep my answers simple and assured him that Grandma loves it there and Jesus won't let her fall.

I just wanted to share this post in case any of you ever need an idea for a family that looses a loved one. What a wonderful memento for a young child. Thank you Nguyen Family!

Easter Weekend

I am really behind on my blog posts so I will be trying to catch up over the next few days. Check back every day or so for a new group of pictures. Here are our pics of the boys decorating easter eggs, hunting for them in the backyard and our family pictures on Easter morning.

Do those faces scream, "Ornery" or what?!?!

This is how we roll...

Check out our awesome new baller outfits for Luke's 3rd Birthday party this weekend.

We also love our new shades from Nana and Papa. Don't we look smooth?!!?!

I bet most of you don't have a garage in your bathroom but this is how we roll at our house.

Peace out,

a

ps. As you read my "peace out" this week. Say it as Kip from Napoleon Dynamite would. I can't seem to stop talking like him today. I know I really should start acting my age but I guess all those middle schoolers wore off on me through the years.

Midwives Rule!

I had my first midwife appt. on Monday. I can't say enough good things about Fairhaven Obstetrics. If you live in the Goshen area I highly suggest this combined practice of doctors and midwives. I feel so blessed to have a group of midwives committed to women's health all while doing it through Christian morals and principals. Their practice mission statement refers to Jesus as the "Great Physician" and lists a few Bible verses that they believe in. I picked the midwives when I was pregnant with Charlie simply because I loved the idea of having a woman doctor and them staying with me through all of labor. I am so happy with the decision I made!
The five midwives that are a part of this practice are so knowledgeable and caring that it just blows me away every time I see them. Maybe every OBGYN is like this but I just highly doubt it!
There are many misconceptions about midwives like they only deliver babies at home with a pot of boiling water and a stick for you to bite on. Not true at all! This group of midwives is Accredited and very well respected. Both of our boys were born at Goshen Hospital. Midwives that deliver in a hospital allow patients to receive any kind of medication that you would like. However, they don't push it on you or make you feel like you need it. They also are present for as much of the labor as you want and coaching you through everything. Anyway... enough of me raving about midwives. I could go on forever about them!

My appointment went great. I measured in right between 11-12 weeks and the heartbeat was 160-170 bpm. Very average.
I had to chuckle because when Julia (the midwife who delivered Sawyer) was looking back through my charts she said, "Oh! I see here you pushed for 3 minutes with Sawyer. He came fast!" I responded, "You wrote down 3 minutes but I really don't think it was that long. I just remember you telling me to slow down while holding his head in." She said, "Oh I did?! That's awful! I'm so sorry I did that to you. We must not have been ready for him." Ahhh. No! They weren't!

Tuesday I caved and had Ben take a pic just for our records of me pregnant at 11 weeks. I wasn't planning to post it but since I look amazingly thinner than I really am I will! :) It's sad to say that I am wearing maternity clothes in this pic. I can fit into my others still but these are just way more comfortable now! Thank you to all my friends loaning me clothes! I really appreciate it!
peace out,
a

Photo Shoot with Jace

Yesterday we did an impromptu photo shoot with the boys' cousin Jace. Not professional! Just me laying on the kitchen floor and Amy holding up a sheet behind him. We got a few cute shots. I have started taking a photography class on Thursday nights so this was great practice for me. The class is kicking my butt! I am starting to really enjoy it though. At first I was really intimidated but there are only 3 students in the class and our teacher is really personable and knowledgeable. You can check out his website at Tim Stiffler Photography.

Isn't Jace adorable?!?!? I just love his big brown eyes!

Nice drool!

Showing off his new teeth.

I think these might be my favorites.

These next two are just too funny not to post. I am guessing they won't be getting framed any time soon but they are still adorable.

We did sneak in one of all three of the boys together in their jammies. So cute!

You can check out Jace's blog at Team Tonagel.

Burning Questions

So I have been bombarded with questions over the last few days. Hopefully I will try and answer most of them and end all of the curiosity that is burning inside all of my Internet friends.

~What did Ben say when you told him? He didn't believe me. I had taken 2 tests previously that were negative so his "analytical" brain said, "30% is not that good of a percentage. I won't believe it for awhile." What a dweeb!

~ It was Arizona wasn't it? NO! Do the math people! We knew before we went.

~ The Flu huh??? Nice cover up! No, really! I did have the flu along with everyone else in the house. The boys are still not 100%.

~ How are you feeling? Pretty crummy for the last 4 weeks or so. I am exhausted by about 7pm. I feel the worst from about 1:30pm- 5:30pm. Just in time for Ben to come home to a cranky wife. Sorry babe!
I also suffer from insomnia when I am pregnant. With both of the boys it really started to become bad in the last trimester. However, this time I am already waking up like crazy. I am typically awake anywhere from 1-3 hours a night. If anyone has any suggestions I would gladly take them!

~ What are the boys saying about it? They are excited. Before we told them Ben and I were talking about it kind of on the sly and Charlie piped up and said, "Who are you talking about? Who do we have to get ready for? Who's coming?" Smart kid! :) So... we told him that a new baby was coming. Sawyer LOVES babies so I think he will just adore his new brother or sister. He practiced rocking his bear today and "sshhhing" it.

~ Are you hoping for a girl? I can't lie so of course I am! I also am trusting that God knows me better than myself and will give me the child that he wants me to take care of for our time here on earth. He knows I may be prone to turning into "Crazy Mom" with all the girly paraphernalia. If we have another boy I will just be a stronger woman for raising 3 boys! I also have declared that I will be the princess of our household. :) Plus, Josi Bricker's stock will go way up in my book and she will have 3 boys to choose from for her husband instead of just 2.

~ Are you having the baby at home this time? I would love to but Ben is not comfortable with it. It is just a little too overwhelming for him and I respect that. So... I am hoping to compromise and have the baby at a Birthing Center in Goshen. I am fine with this and actually really excited about it. Our insurance does not cover the Birthing Center so I am praying that cost wise it will be very close to having it in the hospital.

~ Are you planning to find out if it is a boy or girl? We are not sure at this point. We didn't know with either of the first two pregnancies what we were having and I LOVED that! It was great motivation for me to get through labor. I wanted to know so badly what it was. This time however I am already very curious and it is starting to drive me crazy. Ben would really like to know so that we can be as physically ready for the baby as possible.

~ Will you post "belly pics"? Hah! Are you people insane? Every other girl on the planet looks cute when they are pregnant. I just look like a house. I may post one here or there once I finally look prego. For now I just look like I ate way too many dinners at Aztecaz in North Webster.

~ Are you getting a mini-van? Sniff-Sniff... yes. Well at least most likely. No offense to all you mini-van driving mamas out there. I'm sure you love them and look adorable in them. I just NEVER thought I would own a mini-van. I pictured myself more as a Lexus SUV type of mom. :)That just isn't practical right now. Ben wants to keep our Explorer and just make it work. I don't think he realizes that I would have to throw Charlie in through the back hatch and lean WAY over to get him buckled in and then strap the other two rug-rats into the middle seats. Then there is no room for a stroller. He claims I won't need a stroller! Hah! It is either that or color-coated leashes for all of them.

~ Are you moving? Who knows! As of right now we will just squeeze Charlie and Sawyer into Charlie's room with bunk beds. Can you picture that?!?! Anyone who would like to volunteer to come stay at our house for a few nights and train Charlie to sleep on a top bunk and Sawyer into staying on a bed period would be welcome to. We are not relishing this thought. My mom suggested just buying stackable metal dog crates. I am thinking that might actually work!

~What are you going to do about your bridesmaid dress? For those of you that don't know, Ben, the boys and I are in Troy and Megan's wedding in June. I had to order my dress a couple of months ago. I am just going to try my hardest not to gain much weight before the wedding and stuff myself into the dress. Once again Amanda is going to be the fat/pregnant bridesmaid! Nice! Sorry Troy and Megan. :)

~ And finally... Are you and Ben crazy???? Yes, quite possibly we are! If you lived with two monkeys named Charlie and Sawyer you would be too!
In all seriousness we are very excited about Baby #3! We had decided that we wanted to keep our kiddos close once Sawyer came along. He and Charlie are 16 months apart and Sawyer and new baby will be about 27 months apart. We love that the boys are best friends and will hopefully have the same interests and friends throughout the years.

Hopefully your curiosity is quenched. Let me know if I forgot any others.
Until then, Peace out!
a