Jessica Grace!!!!

Had our 28 week 4D ultrasound on Thursday and got to bring in all the kiddos!  It was sooo so special!  Of course Jessica didn't want to cooperate, except for showing off fingers and toes, but it doesn't matter, it was wonderful!  And yes this is an upside look at her face, but I heard blogger is having some issues and so I have no idea how to make it right side up,  Turn your computer lol!

Hand

Foot

Girly girl!  We picked Grace for Sean's Grandma Brewner.  Jessica, just a name we like.  :)

And this is a sleepy little Addie :)  On a side note, we have started a couple of things as a family that I am super excited about!  We heard it in church and thought it was a good idea to incorporate for our family.  It's a way to increase faith and show the kids (and ourselves) that God is real and working actively in on our lives.  The kids picked one thing to have as a prayer project that we will pray about daily until prayer is answered.  Well, they picked one other thing, too, but it is a long-term prayer!  Sean and I are also writing things down that go on daily list that may be related to the kids or things that just happen throughout the day and then at night after the kids go to sleep, we are going to pray over our list.  :)

So our mommy/daddy teams are going to be even!  3 boys first, soon to be 3 girls in a row now!  Thanking God!

Addison Marie is here!

While we were having a baby, the kiddos were making snow ice cream! :)

Wednesday morning, I woke up to a couple of signs of either labor or impending labor.  I had an OB appointment any way that afternoon, but the weather was to complicate things because we had  snow coming in.  The OB actually called me and asked if I could come in early and Sean and I agreed.  We decided to go ahead and ask for The Bates girls and Courtney Green to come over before the weather got bad to watch the kids, in case we stayed at the hospital.  So, we headed off to the OB going 25 mph the whole way there!  It took an hour.  Dr. Hayes checked me and I was dilated to 4 so because of yes you guessed it.....the weather......she decided to strip my membranes and send me over to L and D for observation.  We were there from about noon until 530, at which time I was admitted.  In that time span, we did a lot of walking and I would have contractions that were strong, but not consistent.  They put me on the monitors twice.  I think they would have let us stay overnight even though we weren't sure I'd be having a baby.  Well, then the nurse checked me at 530 and to all of our surprise I was dilated to an 8!!!!!!  And so that is when I wa admitted.  Dr. Metcalf decided to break my water, which we thought would really speed things up because my contractions still weren't consistent, but it didn't really change anything.  It sure did when they broke my water with Hailey!  And that's why every pregnancy story is different!  Any way, some time later, Dr Metcalf decided it was time to start Pitocin to try to regulate contractions.  I was feeling discouraged and defeated and he had already left the room and I think I said something along the lines of "I guess I don't have a choice".  I really didn't want Pitocin.  It makes trying to have a natural L and D a lot harder because the contractions are a lot stronger and it makes it harder to relax and just let my body take over.  Sean said, "Well of course you have a choice" and the nurses chimed in in agreement.  Only later did we find out that Dr. Metcalf thought we had been started on the Pitocin because the nurses didn't tell him that we hadn't.  They suggested we talk about it and then  they would come back.  Sean and I unbeknownst to one another just started fervently praying.  For about 45 mins.  I closed my eyes and just focused on meditating on 2 scriptures the Lord had brought to my mind: "I can do all things through Jesus Christ, which stengtheneth me" and "Without faith, it is impossible to please Him".  Any time I felt my mind going towards discouragement, I would repeat over and over "We can do this" and "My body was created to do this".  Through the power of God and His awesomeness, contractions started coming every 4 mins, and then every 2, and then it was time to call the nurses.  I did about 4 rounds of practice pushes and then they called Dr. Metcalf back in, and I did about 3 more rounds of pushes and then our precious, sweet, sweet Addison Marie was born at 849 pm January 20th weighing 8 lbs 4 oz and 21.5 in long.  She was and IS perfect.  God's perfect creation.  She has been doing very well.  She has a little jaundice and she likes to only pee like once or twice a day and she spits up a little, but she's just trying to figure all this new stuff out I suppose.  They sent us home yesterday right before the next round of snow.  I've been doing well, too!  I had a tear, but I don't really have much pain.  Just been resting a lot and letting Sean do more, which has stressed him out a little.  We have really purposed for me to rest more this time around instead of trying to be super woman.  The kiddos have been so excited to have their new sister and that's all they have been talking about and they have been really sweet with her.  We've got our snow baby!  It's snowing as I type.  :)  

I feel so reenergized and on fire for the Lord and more in love with Jesus!  He is amazing!  

A couple of other testimonies:  Addison had just gone over 24 hours without a wet diaper and they had paged the pediatrician.  The nurse had come in to give us our options and then left so we could talk about it.  Once again, we started praying separately, and she peed!  We also prayed for food that was taking over an hour to get to us and as soon as we prayed, it arrived....even with a 2nd tray for Sean for free.  :)  

We are really learning the power of prayer and the importance of going to the father for everything through prayer FIRST!  The funny thing is, we both had felt unable to pray all that day (Addison's birthday), so I'm so thankful that somehow that all changed.  

Lastly, on this forever long post, pray for Dr. Brown, who is the pediatrician at the hospital and for his salvation.  He was asking one of the nurses about us, asking why we seemed different.  She stated JESUS!  And he said he knew she was going to say that!  He said, they prayed and had a baby, then they prayed again and their baby had a wet diaper and then they prayed again and their baby passed the glucose test.  Again, all the glory to God and we are just thankful He used us and maybe a seed was planted for Dr. Brown.  

Maybe Baby

On October 25th, we found out we were expecting baby #5!  Today was my first appointment.  On ultrasound, there was an empty gestational sac.  I am measuring about a week earlier than my LMP.  So, either it's too early and next ultrasound on 11/25 will show a precious new life or it will still be an empty sac.  We definitely would have preferred a better appointment with a baby and a heartbeat, but we are thanking God any ways.  Right?  We have to.  In good and bad.  God is always good.  Sean and I are going to rely on God and his goodness and mercy and grace and have faith and hope that our next appointment will show that new little one.  In the meantime, prayers are asked for.  I'm definitely feeling nauseous and tired aka pregnant. 


And before I go, we do have a testimony.  Close to the same thing happened with Hunter.  I started bleeding, went to the ER, had a subchorionic hematoma, did ultrasound, and empty sac.  Did another ultrasound at OB a few days later and still nothing.  Dr. says my body thinks I am pregnant, but not really.  Sent home to wait another week for another ultrasound and this time.....A BABY!  And this baby who is now 3years old is sitting on my lap as I type this.  So we have one miracle already.  Well, if anyone knows my pregnancy with Ryan, you would also know that was a miracle. 


So we wait.  Hopefully for a new little Thanksgiving blessing. 

Me + 3 in FL

Back in January, me and Andrew had taken a long weekend trip to FL.  So I had wanted to do a me and Ryan trip to FL and then a me and Hunter trip.  Well, it didn't work out for just me and Ryan to go, so after much prayer and discussion, we decided that I would take all three boys to FL on the airplane.  I was a little nervous, but after seeking God's guidance felt at peace.  We left last Wednesday and returned this past Monday.  We had such a blessed time, although I was ready to get back home to my hubby after 5 days!!!!!  The boys did fantastic on the plane both there and back!!!  I was so grateful for that!  We stayed at my Dad's house and enjoyed spending time with him and seeing my grandma and my aunts and uncles.  I also got to see some of my good friends and do park play dates with them, lunch and dinner dates, and a trip to see a dear friend at her house for a couple of hours.  We also got to go to service at our old church, which was so nice.  It was a little too hot for me so we decided to take the boys to the beach in the evening, but it turned out that we had sort of run out of time, so we more took them in the dark!!!  lol  I think they still enjoyed it. It wasn't hot!!! It was also Andrew's first time on the beach. 

I am also grateful for the lessons that God taught me on this trip.  Sometimes I can get into wrong thinking, thinking that me plus 3 little ones and being pregnant is too much to handle when trying to go out and about and so I will avoid going places without Sean.  I learned that indeed I am still able to do it; it just takes a little bit more time, planning, and patience.  I also learned to let go of expectations.  When Sean comes home from school I can be in the frame of mind that I've had the kids all day and he hasn't so now it's his turn.  If he doesn't perform my unspoken requests (my expectations), then I feel disappointed, impatient, discouraged, and angry at times.  I really learned not to expect that he should be doing it all just because he was away and I was home.  I also learned to appreciate all the things he does do and how well we work together as a team after not having him around for five days!  Most importantly, I learned how much I really missed my husband!  I am so thankful to have him in my life and love him so much.  It was wonderful to see him again. 

It was a blessed trip!!!!!!

P.S. Yes, I only took ONE picture while on vacation!!!!

Proverbs 3:5-6

King James Version (KJV)

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Asking for prayer

My grandma fell yesterday and went to the ER.  She has a cracked hip and the doctors are wanting to perform a total hip replacement Wednesday afternoon.  She is 82.  Please pray for her and my family and the doctors and nurses taking care of her.  Thank you!

James 5:15-16 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.¹⁶ Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Read more: http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/bible-verses-for-the-sick-20-comforting-scripture-quotes/#ixzz2LNRLzUf0

Commitment

Our preacher, Mr. Bates, urged our church to make a commitment yesterday during service.  It's sorta like a resolution for the New Year.  He asked all of us to commit to reading our Bibles 10 minutes a day, memorizing scripture 10 minutes a day, praying 10 minutes a day, and handing out 30 tracts a month.  Well, I have made the commitment.....and I'm pressuring Sean to commit, too!  :)  lol  We pretty much do all of it already, but we have never handed out tracts before, therefore, Sean's hesitance in making the commitment.  It is very scary, I admit, but I'm excited to do it. 

Now, may I encourage you to make the same commitment for 2013!!!!  :)